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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF), Marfa, Texas, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,144 miles (or 8,278 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 Lakenheath, 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 Lakenheath. 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF) has 3 runways.
• Marfa Gliders offers sailplane flight training and glider rides throughout the year and hosts a soaring camp in spring.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Taking part in more than 350 operations, more than half mine-laying, 149 Squadron had one of the lowest percentage loss rates of all Stirling squadrons.
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• In response to the threat by the Soviet Union, by the 1948 Berlin blockade, President Truman decided to realign USAFE into a permanent combat-capable force.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.
• A near nuclear accident occurred on 27 July 1956 – when a B-47 bomber crashed into a storage igloo at Lakenheath containing three MK-6 nuclear weapons while on a routine training mission.
• RAF Lakenheath, and nearby, RAF Mildenhall, are the two main U.S.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.