Nonstop flight route between Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Palmdale, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,342 miles (or 8,598 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 Palmdale Regional 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 Palmdale Regional Airport. 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):

• 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 airfield was built in 1939, necessitating the demolition of Lyneham Court manor house, the buildings of Cranley Farm and the village's tennis courts.
• 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.
• With the increase in air transport operations in the RAF, as opposed to ferrying, Transport Command was formed in March 1943.
• 511 Squadron was formed again at RAF Lyneham on 15 December 1959, as the second squadron to operate the Bristol Britannia on long-range trooping flights.
• 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.
• With the transfer of military units and personnel to Brize Norton complete, around 1,000 members of military and civilian staff remained on site, gradually reducing in numbers until RAF Lyneham closes entirely, on 31 December 2012.
• RAF Lyneham (LYE) has 2 runways.
• RAF Lyneham received the first of 25 brand-new Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules on 23 November 1999, to be operated by Nos.

Facts about Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):

• The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.
• In February 2007 the city of Palmdale and LAWA selected United Airlines to provide service between Palmdale and San Francisco International Airport.
• Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
• From 1970 to 1983 the Los Angeles Department of Airports, now called Los Angeles World Airports, acquired about 17,750 acres of land east and south of United States Air Force Plant 42 in unincorporated Los Angeles County to be developed into the future "Palmdale Intercontinental Airport," an alternative to LAX.
• The origins of Palmdale Regional Airport go to the early 1930s, when a small airstrip was built in the desert.