Nonstop flight route between Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Santa Barbara, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,458 miles (or 8,784 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 Santa Barbara Airport, 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 Santa Barbara Airport. 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):

• Since 1 June 1998, station commanders have served as aides-de-camp to Her Majesty the Queen.
• 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.
• 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.
• During the construction of Heathrow Airport, Northolt was used for commercial civil flights, becoming the busiest airport in Europe for a time and a major base for British European Airways.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• In 1943, the station became the first to fly sorties using Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXs in German airspace in support of bomber operations.
• Much media attention focused on the airfield when the body of Diana, Princess of Wales, arrived there from Villacoublay airfield, in Paris, France, after her death in a car crash in the city on 31 August 1997.
• Civil flights ceased when the central area at Heathrow opened in 1954 with Northolt reverting to sole military use in May that year.
• In 1916, No. 43 Squadron was formed under the command of Major Sholto Douglas.

Facts about Santa Barbara Airport (SBA):

• In 1947 the Santa Barbara Flying Club was formed to promote general aviation in the region.
• Until 2002 Santa Barbara Airport was on a mainline jet aircraft route between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
• As airplane manufacturing grew in the late 1930s that airstrip developed into an airfield.
• Five airlines serve the Airport as of July 2013 with non-stop flights to Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma.
• Santa Barbara's aviation history began in 1914 when Lincoln J.
• Because of Santa Barbara Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Barbara 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.
• The closest airport to Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Santa Ynez Airport (SQA), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NW of SBA.
• The furthest airport from Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,487 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.