Nonstop flight route between Oakham, England, United Kingdom and Freetown, Sierra Leone:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Cottesmore (OKH), Oakham, England, United Kingdom and Hastings Airport (HGS), Freetown, Sierra Leone would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,143 miles (or 5,057 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 Cottesmore and Hastings 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 Cottesmore and Hastings 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 Cottesmore (OKH):

• The furthest airport from RAF Cottesmore (OKH) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,813 miles (19,011 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Cottesmore (OKH) is East Midlands Airport (EMA), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) WNW of OKH.
• RAF Cottesmore (OKH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The 316th Troop Carrier Group began to arrive at Cottesmore on 15 February 1944 when 52 C-47 and C-53 transports began flying in from Borizzo Afld., Sicily.
• These units remained in residence until a few days before the outbreak of war in 1939 when they were sent to RAF Cranfield to serve as a pool providing replacements for combat losses.
• Cottesmore became home to the Tri-national Tornado Training Establishment.
• The TTTE closed in 1999, and after a period of refurbishment was replaced by the Harriers of Nos 3 and 4 squadrons.
• The badge appears on the nameplate of the LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado steam locomotive that was named by HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on 19 February 2009.
• The motto "We rise to our obstacles" is both a reference to the Cottesmore Hunt and was intended to convey the spirit with which the Royal Air Force confronts difficulties.
• Because of RAF Cottesmore's relatively low elevation of 463 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Cottesmore 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.
• Kendrew Barracks was officially opened in October 2012 by the Duke of Gloucester.

Facts about Hastings Airport (HGS):

• The furthest airport from Hastings Airport (HGS) is Ulawa Airport (RNA), which is nearly antipodal to Hastings Airport (meaning Hastings Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ulawa Airport), and is located 12,088 miles (19,454 kilometers) away in Arona, Ulawa Island, Solomon Islands.
• The closest airport to Hastings Airport (HGS) is Lungi International Airport (FNA), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NNW of HGS.
• Because of Hastings Airport's relatively low elevation of 60 feet, planes can take off or land at Hastings 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.
• Hastings Airport (HGS) currently has only 1 runway.