Nonstop flight route between Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Santa Ynez, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Santa Ynez Airport (SQA), Santa Ynez, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,445 miles (or 8,762 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between RAF Lakenheath and Santa Ynez Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between RAF Lakenheath and Santa Ynez Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• By the time construction ended the war with Germany was over and RAF Lakenheath was put on a care and maintenance status.
• Lakenheath Airfield was used by RAF flying units on detachment late in 1941.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• A near nuclear accident occurred on 27 July 1956 – when a B-47 bomber crashed into a storage igloo at Lakenheath containing three MK-6 nuclear weapons while on a routine training mission.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.
• The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.

Facts about Santa Ynez Airport (SQA):

• The closest airport to Santa Ynez Airport (SQA) is Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) SE of SQA.
• Santa Ynez Airport (SQA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Ynez Airport", another name for SQA is "IZA".
• The furthest airport from Santa Ynez Airport (SQA) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,479 miles (18,474 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Santa Ynez Airport's relatively low elevation of 671 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Ynez Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.