Nonstop flight route between Mattoon/Charleston, Illinois, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO), Mattoon/Charleston, Illinois, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,084 miles (or 6,573 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 Coles County Memorial 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 Coles County Memorial 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 Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO):

• Airline flights started around 1955 and ended in 2000-2001.
• The closest airport to Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) is University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) N of MTO.
• The furthest airport from Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,091 miles (17,849 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) has 3 runways.
• Because of Coles County Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 722 feet, planes can take off or land at Coles County Memorial 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.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• In addition to supporting three combat-ready squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft, the Liberty Wing houses the 56th Rescue Squadron's HH-60G Combat Search and Rescue helicopters.
• 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.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.
• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.