Nonstop flight route between Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Knoxville, Tennessee, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS), Knoxville, Tennessee, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,097 miles (or 6,593 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 McGhee Tyson 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 McGhee Tyson 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):

• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• 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.
• Control of RAF Lakenheath was allocated to Third Air Force at South Ruislip Air Station, which had command of SAC B-29 operations in England.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.
• 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.
• Following French president Charles de Gaulle's insistence in 1959 that all non-French nuclear-capable forces should be withdrawn from his country, the USAF began a redeployment of its North American F-100-equipped units from France.

Facts about McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS):

• McGhee Tyson Airport handled 1,688,882 passengers last year.
• McGhee Tyson Airport has two levels.
• The closest airport to McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) is Gatlinburg–Pigeon Forge Airport (GKT), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) E of TYS.
• The fixed base operator at TYS is the Truman-Arnold Company.
• The development of TYS helped the City of Alcoa diversify its economy and gain its economic independence from what is today Alcoa Inc., the world's third largest producer of aluminum.
• McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "McGhee Tyson Airport", another name for TYS is "McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base".
• Because of McGhee Tyson Airport's relatively low elevation of 981 feet, planes can take off or land at McGhee Tyson 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.
• The furthest airport from McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,348 miles (18,263 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.