Nonstop flight route between Ottumwa, Iowa, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM), Ottumwa, Iowa, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,160 miles (or 6,695 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 Ottumwa Regional Airport and RAF Lakenheath, 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 Ottumwa Regional Airport and RAF Lakenheath. 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 Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM):

• Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM) is Fairfield Municipal Airport (FFL), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) E of OTM.
• With the end of World War II and much less need for large numbers of aviators, NAS Ottumwa was transitioned from a flight training role to one of classroom-based pre-flight training on December 7, 1945—exactly four years after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
• The furthest airport from Ottumwa Regional Airport (OTM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,856 miles (17,470 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Ottumwa Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 845 feet, planes can take off or land at Ottumwa Regional 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.
• Since being taken over by the city of Ottumwa, the facility has seen many non-aviation uses, many related to the field of education.
• In December, 1947, Central States Airlines began commercial air service to Ottumwa.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was in World War I, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area.
• In addition to supporting three combat-ready squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft, the Liberty Wing houses the 56th Rescue Squadron's HH-60G Combat Search and Rescue helicopters.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.