Nonstop flight route between Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Whakatane, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Whakatane Airport (WHK), Whakatane, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,421 miles (or 18,380 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 Whakatane 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 Whakatane 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):

• Taking part in more than 350 operations, more than half mine-laying, 149 Squadron had one of the lowest percentage loss rates of all Stirling squadrons.
• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, 40 Horsa Gliders being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• 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.

Facts about Whakatane Airport (WHK):

• Whakatane Airport (WHK) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Whakatane Airport (WHK) is Granada Airport (GRX), which is nearly antipodal to Whakatane Airport (meaning Whakatane Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Granada Airport), and is located 12,374 miles (19,913 kilometers) away in Granada, Spain.
• Because of Whakatane Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Whakatane 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 closest airport to Whakatane Airport (WHK) is Rotorua International Airport (ROT), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WSW of WHK.