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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom and Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU), Fairfield, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,300 miles (or 8,530 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 Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun 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 Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• Since 1 June 1998, station commanders have served as aides-de-camp to Her Majesty the Queen.
• On 1 June 1960, an Avro Anson aircraft suffered engine failure soon after take-off from Northolt and crash-landed on top of the nearby Express Dairies plant in South Ruislip.
• Thirty Allied airmen including servicemen from Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, Poland and the United Kingdom were killed flying from RAF Northolt during the Battle of Britain, of whom ten were Polish.
• Squadrons based at RAF Northolt during the battle shot down a total of 148 Luftwaffe aircraft and damaged 52.
• 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.

Facts about Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU):

• In addition to being known as "Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield", another name for SUU is "Travis AFB".
• The sites at Elmira and Fairfield/Cement Hill later received modifications to accept the Nike Hercules missile, while the sites at Dixon/Lambie and Potrero Hills were inactivated in 1959.
• The closest airport to Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU) is Nut Tree Airport (VCB), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNW of SUU.
• The first unit to take up permanent residence at the airfield was a group of ten enlisted men and one officer from the 914th Quartermaster Division at Hamilton Field.
• Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force air base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command, located three miles east of the central business district of Fairfield, in Solano County, California, United States.
• The furthest airport from Travis Air Force Base Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield (SUU) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,315 miles (18,210 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Reference for major commands assigned and major units assigned
• The demolition and reconstruction of Runway 21L-03R, as well as the construction of a new C-17 Assault Landing Zone, began on 4 February 2010 with completion expected sometime late in the fall of 2012.