Nonstop flight route between Lawrenceville, Illinois, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lawrenceville–Vincennes International Airport (LWV), Lawrenceville, Illinois, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,093 miles (or 6,588 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 Lawrenceville–Vincennes International Airport 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 Lawrenceville–Vincennes International Airport 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 Lawrenceville–Vincennes International Airport (LWV):

• Lawrenceville–Vincennes International Airport (LWV) has 3 runways.
• Lawrenceville–Vincennes International Airport covers an area of 3,067 acres at an elevation of 430 feet above mean sea level.
• Lawrenceville–Vincennes International Airport is a public use airport in Lawrence County, Illinois, United States.
• The furthest airport from Lawrenceville–Vincennes International Airport (LWV) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,134 miles (17,918 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Lawrenceville–Vincennes International Airport (LWV) is O'Neal Airport (OEA), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSE of LWV.
• Because of Lawrenceville–Vincennes International Airport's relatively low elevation of 430 feet, planes can take off or land at Lawrenceville–Vincennes International 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.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• 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.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• 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.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.