Nonstop flight route between Maxton, North Carolina, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (MXE), Maxton, North Carolina, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,961 miles (or 6,375 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 Laurinburg-Maxton 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 Laurinburg-Maxton 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 Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (MXE):

• Because of Laurinburg-Maxton Airport's relatively low elevation of 220 feet, planes can take off or land at Laurinburg-Maxton 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.
• In addition to being known as "Laurinburg-Maxton Airport", another name for MXE is "MEB".
• The closest airport to Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (MXE) is Mackall Army Airfield (HFF), which is located only 18 miles (30 kilometers) NNW of MXE.
• Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (MXE) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (MXE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,610 miles (18,685 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airfield was constructed for the United States Army Air Force during World War II.

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.
• 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.
• The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• 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 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.
• By the time construction ended the war with Germany was over and RAF Lakenheath was put on a care and maintenance status.