Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Fort Bragg, North Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Simmons Army Airfield (FBG), Fort Bragg, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,904 miles (or 6,283 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 RAF Northolt and Simmons Army Airfield, 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 RAF Northolt and Simmons Army Airfield. 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 RAF Northolt (NHT):

• RAF Northolt became home to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's personal aircraft, a modified Douglas C-54 Skymaster, in June 1944.
• The furthest airport from RAF Northolt (NHT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London.
• In 1916, No. 43 Squadron was formed under the command of Major Sholto Douglas.
• Following Louis Blériot's first flight across the English Channel in 1909, the British Army considered the necessity of defending the United Kingdom from a future air attack.
• Starting in 1946 the airfield was used by civil aviation during the construction of nearby Heathrow Airport.
• Four Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft arrived at the station from RAF Coningsby on 2 May 2012 to take part in a security exercise as part of preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
• Attention was high again in 2001 when Ronnie Biggs, the seriously ill, fugitive Great Train Robber, was flown from Brazil to the airfield to be arrested by waiting police officers.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.

Facts about Simmons Army Airfield (FBG):

• By 1976 Simmons had 176 aircraft assigned and 375 flights operations a day.
• The furthest airport from Simmons Army Airfield (FBG) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,634 miles (18,723 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In June 1952 the 6th Transportation Company arrived with 21 H-19C and two H-13 helicopters.
• Construction in 1956-1957 converted the field to a permanent army airfield, allowing transfer of air activities from overcrowded Pope Air Force Base to Simmons AAF.
• On May 1953 Fort Bragg engineers completed final plans for an expanded field and started construction the next summer.
• Simmons Army Airfield (FBG) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the mid-1950s, the U-10 aircraft was tested at Simmons.
• The closest airport to Simmons Army Airfield (FBG) is Pope Field (POB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) WNW of FBG.
• Because of Simmons Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 244 feet, planes can take off or land at Simmons Army Airfield 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.
• As part of Exercise Test Drop in August 1952, the 406th Engineer Brigade constructed an airfield in the vicinity of Smith Lake on land acquired by Fort Bragg.