Nonstop flight route between Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Mercury, Nevada, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from LYE to DRA:
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- About this route
- LYE Airport Information
- DRA Airport Information
- Facts about LYE
- Facts about DRA
- Map of Nearest Airports to LYE
- List of Nearest Airports to LYE
- Map of Furthest Airports from LYE
- List of Furthest Airports from LYE
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRA
- List of Nearest Airports to DRA
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRA
- List of Furthest Airports from DRA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Desert Rock Airport (DRA), Mercury, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,163 miles (or 8,310 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 Lyneham and Desert Rock 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 Lyneham and Desert Rock Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | LYE / EGDL |
| Airport Name: | RAF Lyneham |
| Location: | Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°30'19"N by 1°59'35"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 512 feet (156 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from LYE |
| More Information: | LYE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | DRA / KDRA |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Mercury, Nevada, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 36°37'9"N by 116°1'58"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Mercury, Nevada |
| Airport Type: | United States Department of Energy/Nevada |
| Elevation: | 1010 feet (308 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DRA |
| More Information: | DRA Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Lyneham (LYE):
- The furthest airport from RAF Lyneham (LYE) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,913 miles (19,172 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- Because of RAF Lyneham's relatively low elevation of 512 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Lyneham 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 airfield became renowned for being the "gateway" between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan.
- A single enemy aircraft attacked the station on 19 September 1940, dropping an incendiary and two high explosive bombs before strafing part of the airfield.
- In 1956, with the arrival of the de Havilland Comet operated by 216 Squadron, the main runway was extended from 6,000 feet to its present length of 7,830 feet.
- RAF Lyneham (LYE) has 2 runways.
- A parade attended by the Princess Royal was held on 31 May 2011, to mark the departure of Nos.
- The closest airport to RAF Lyneham (LYE) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of LYE.
Facts about Desert Rock Airport (DRA):
- Desert Rock Airport (DRA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,271 miles (18,139 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- In addition to being known as "Desert Rock Airport", another name for DRA is "NV65".
- The closest airport to Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Creech Air Force Base Indian Springs Auxiliary Army Airfield (1961) Indian Springs Air Force Base (1951) Indian Springs Army Airfield Indian Springs Airport eponyms: Indian Springs, Nevada &Wilbur L. Creech[1] (INS), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of DRA.
