Nonstop flight route between Pilot Point, Alaska, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pilot Point Airport (PIP), Pilot Point, Alaska, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,738 miles (or 7,625 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 Pilot Point 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 Pilot Point 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 Pilot Point Airport (PIP):

• Because of Pilot Point Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Pilot Point 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 furthest airport from Pilot Point Airport (PIP) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,808 miles (17,394 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• Pilot Point Airport (PIP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Pilot Point Airport (PIP) is Ugashik Airport (UGS), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of PIP.
• In addition to being known as "Pilot Point Airport", other names for PIP include "Pilot Point Airport (new location)" and "PNP".
• On 1 July 1981, Douglas R4D N111ST of United Aircraft Services crashed shortly after take-off while on a flight to Anchorage International Airport, following the failure of the port engine.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• In 1941, hard runways were put down with the main runway, 04/22, being 2,000 yards, and the subsidiaries, 12/30 at 1,300 yards and 16/34 at 1,400 yards.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force station near the town of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England located 4.7 miles north-east of Mildenhall, Suffolk and 8.3 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk.
• Many SAC Squadrons had aircraft at RAF Lakenheath on a transitotry basis without any recorded deployment to the base.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• 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.
• Control of RAF Lakenheath was allocated to Third Air Force at South Ruislip Air Station, which had command of SAC B-29 operations in England.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.