Nonstop flight route between Shafter, California, United States and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shafter Airport (MIT), Shafter, California, United States and RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,352 miles (or 8,613 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 Shafter Airport and RAF Benson, 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 Shafter Airport and RAF Benson. 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 Shafter Airport (MIT):

• In addition to being known as "Shafter Airport", another name for MIT is "Minter Field".
• The furthest airport from Shafter Airport (MIT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,404 miles (18,353 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• With the relative completion of construction in July 1942, the airfield was renamed Minter Field Army Airfield a member of the locally prominent Minter family.
• Shafter Airport (MIT) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Shafter Airport (MIT) is Meadows Field (BFL), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of MIT.
• The primary aircraft flown at Minter Field was the Vultee BT-13 Valiant, which was used for basic flight training.
• Because of Shafter Airport's relatively low elevation of 424 feet, planes can take off or land at Shafter 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 Gossamer Condor piloted by Bryan Allen won the first Kremer prize on August 23, 1977 by completing a figure '8' course specified by the Royal Aeronautical Society at Minter Field.

Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):

• The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
• The Battles were replaced in December 1940 with Vickers Wellington medium bombers.
• The station is today the home to four squadrons of Support Helicopters, 28 Squadron, 78 Squadron with Merlin helicopters and 33 Squadron and 230 Squadron with Puma helicopters.