Nonstop flight route between Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Nikolski, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Nikolski Air Station (IKO), Nikolski, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,180 miles (or 8,336 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 Nikolski Air Station, 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 Nikolski Air Station. 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 Lyneham (LYE):

• On 14 October 1942, 511 squadron was formed from No.
• 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.
• RAF Lyneham received the first of 25 brand-new Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules on 23 November 1999, to be operated by Nos.
• 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 decision to close RAF Lyneham was made in 2002, and it was scheduled for closure by 2012 with all functions and aircraft relocated to RAF Brize Norton.
• The closest airport to RAF Lyneham (LYE) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of LYE.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Nikolski Air Station (IKO):

• Nikolski Air Station is an unattended airport located in Nikolski on Umnak Island in the Aleutians West Census Area of the U.S.
• Because of Nikolski Air Station's relatively low elevation of 77 feet, planes can take off or land at Nikolski Air Station 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 Nikolski Air Station (IKO) is Unalaska Airport (DUT), which is located 116 miles (186 kilometers) NE of IKO.
• The furthest airport from Nikolski Air Station (IKO) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 11,076 miles (17,824 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Nikolski Air Station (IKO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was built in 1958 to support Nikolski Air Force Station, a Cold War United States Air Force Distant Early Warning Line radar station on Umnak Island.