Nonstop flight route between Marfa, Texas, United States and Alconbury, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF), Marfa, Texas, United States and RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,117 miles (or 8,234 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 Marfa Municipal Airport and RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102, 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 Marfa Municipal Airport and RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102. 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 Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF):

• The closest airport to Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF) is Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of MRF.
• For the 12-month period ending April 23, 2007, the airport had 15,000 aircraft operations, an average of 41 per day, all of which were general aviation.
• Marfa Gliders offers sailplane flight training and glider rides throughout the year and hosts a soaring camp in spring.
• In April 2008, the Marfa Airport was recognized as the 15th National Landmark of Soaring by the National Soaring Museum.
• Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF) has 3 runways.
• Because of Marfa Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,849 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MRF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MRF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,361 miles (18,283 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH):

• In the spring of 1938, the Air Ministry acquired about 150 acres of open meadowland at Alconbury Hill, Huntingdonshire, expressly for use as a satellite airfield.
• The furthest airport from RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The host unit at RAF Alconbury is the 423rd Air Base Group which supplies host unit services for Alconbury as well as RAF Molesworth.
• The first American Eighth Air Force unit to take residence at RAF Alconbury was the 93d Bombardment Group, known as the "Travelling Circus" from Fort Myers AAF, Florida on 7 September 1942.
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• In late 1940/41, an expansion of RAF Alconbury commenced to upgrade its facilities from a satellite airfield to a fully operational one.
• This was the time of the Blitz, when many parts of Britain were being subjected to an almost nightly series of heavy air raids.