Nonstop flight route between Laurel, Mississippi, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hesler-Noble Field (LUL), Laurel, Mississippi, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,432 miles (or 7,133 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 Hesler-Noble Field and RAF Fairford, 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 Hesler-Noble Field and RAF Fairford. 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 Hesler-Noble Field (LUL):

• Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,037 miles (17,763 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Laurel Airport opened in April, 1940, having been built by the Works Project Administration.
• In addition to being known as "Hesler-Noble Field", another name for LUL is "(former Laurel Army Airfield)".
• The closest airport to Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) is Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport (PIB), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SW of LUL.
• Excess aircraft were sent to reclamation facilities after being processed at Laurel.
• Hesler-Noble Field covers 1,350 acres at an elevation of 238 feet.
• Because of Hesler-Noble Field's relatively low elevation of 238 feet, planes can take off or land at Hesler-Noble 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.
• Construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways and a large apron and a control tower.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.