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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lyneham (LYE), Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom and Sacramento International Airport (SMF), Sacramento, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,221 miles (or 8,402 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 Sacramento International 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 Sacramento International 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):

• From 1958 Lyneham became one of the 18 Stations designated as dispersal airfields for the RAF's nuclear deterrent V bomber Force.
• The closest airport to RAF Lyneham (LYE) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of LYE.
• 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.
• Lyneham's first runways were constructed during 1940 and 1941, the longest being 4,375 ft, the other 3,542 ft.
• RAF Lyneham (LYE) has 2 runways.
• Royal Air Force Station Lyneham or more simply RAF Lyneham is a former Royal Air Force station located 6.3 miles north east of Chippenham, Wiltshire and 10.3 miles south west of Swindon, Wiltshire, England.
• 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.
• A ceremony, attended by the Prime Minister David Cameron, was held at RAF Brize Norton on 31 August 2011 to mark the formal transfer the role of repatriations from RAF Lyneham.
• 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.

Facts about Sacramento International Airport (SMF):

• The closest airport to Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield (MCC), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of SMF.
• Because of Sacramento International Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Sacramento 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.
• The furthest airport from Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,280 miles (18,154 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Sacramento International Airport handled 8,910,570 passengers last year.
• The Terminal A Parking Garage opened September 23, 2004.
• Air Canada flew to this airport in 2007–2008 to Vancouver, but ended the route in 2008.
• Due to housing growth around Sacramento Executive Airport, the City of Sacramento Planning Department and the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors commissioned a study in the 1950s to move airline flights to a less populated area.
• Sacramento International Airport (SMF) has 2 runways.
• The airport was a focus city for ExpressJet Airlines which independently operated Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets on point-to-point, "hub bypass" routes.
• Between 1990 and 2007 Sacramento International Airport had a high incidence of bird strikes due to its location in an avian migratory route.
• Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, and Trans World Airlines were added to the list of carriers at Sacramento.