Nonstop flight route between Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,045 miles (or 6,509 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 Bowman Field and RAF Lakenheath, 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 Bowman Field and RAF Lakenheath. 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 Bowman Field (LOU):

• Bowman Field is operated by the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, which also operates Louisville International Airport.
• During the 1920s and 1930s, Eastern Air Lines, Trans World Airlines and the original Continental Airlines operated passenger and mail service in and out of Bowman Field.
• The closest airport to Bowman Field (LOU) is Louisville International Airport (SDF), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) SW of LOU.
• Today Bowman Field is home to hundreds of privately owned aircraft as well as several commercial operations, including Central American Airways, which opened its doors in 1946, Falcon Aviation, Aero Club of Louisville, Inc., and Louisville Executive Aviation.
• Because of Bowman Field's relatively low elevation of 546 feet, planes can take off or land at Bowman Field 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 Bowman Field (LOU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,243 miles (18,093 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Bowman Field (LOU) has 2 runways.
• Bowman Field is Kentucky's first commercial airport and is the oldest continually operating commercial airfield in North America.
• Bowman Field is surrounded by tree-lined suburban neighborhoods, but accidents are relatively rare.
• In 1988 three adjacent buildings at the airport were added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Bowman Field Historic District.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• 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.
• In 1941, hard runways were put down with the main runway, 04/22, being 2,000 yards, and the subsidiaries, 12/30 at 1,300 yards and 16/34 at 1,400 yards.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".
• 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.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.