Nonstop flight route between Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, United States and Biggin Hill / London, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX), Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, United States and London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH), Biggin Hill / London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,541 miles (or 5,698 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 NAS JRB Willow Grove and London Biggin Hill 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 NAS JRB Willow Grove and London Biggin Hill 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 NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX):

• Flight activity began here in 1926 when Harold Frederick Pitcairn constructed a hangar and a grass airstrip in Horsham, Pennsylvania.
• On May 28, 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure commission recommended that NAS JRB Willow Grove be closed as part of the 2005 BRAC round, that the tenant Air Force Reserve Command airlift wing be inactivated and that Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve flying units relocate to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey as tenant units.
• NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of NAS JRB Willow Grove's relatively low elevation of 335 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS JRB Willow Grove 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 furthest airport from NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,726 miles (18,871 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) is Wings Field (BBX), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) SW of NXX.

Facts about London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH):

• The closest airport to London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of BQH.
• Biggin Hill is the location of one of the four "stacks" for aircraft landing at Heathrow Airport, and is used by aircraft approaching from the south east.
• In addition to being known as "London Biggin Hill Airport", another name for BQH is "Biggin Hill Airport".
• London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,892 miles (19,139 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• During the Second World War the airfield was one of the commanding bases for the Battle of Britain, with both Spitfires and Hurricanes from a variety of squadrons being based there.
• The current RAF Biggin Hill is a small enclave on the western boundary of the airport to the south of the passenger terminal, and contains the headquarters of 2427 Squadron of the Air Training Corps.
• Meanwhile, the Officer and Aircrew Selection Centre moved to RAF Cranwell in 1992, marking the end of active RAF involvement.
• Because of London Biggin Hill Airport's relatively low elevation of 599 feet, planes can take off or land at London Biggin Hill 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.