Nonstop flight route between Puerto Natales, Chile and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT), Puerto Natales, Chile and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,344 miles (or 13,428 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 Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield 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 Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield 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 Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT):

• Because of Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield's relatively low elevation of 217 feet, planes can take off or land at Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield 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 closest airport to Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT) is Lago Argentino Airport (ING), which is located 93 miles (150 kilometers) N of PNT.
• Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (PNT) is Baikal International Airport (UUD), which is nearly antipodal to Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (meaning Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Baikal International Airport), and is located 12,427 miles (20,000 kilometers) away in Ulan-Ude, Republic of Buryatia, Russia.
• In addition to being known as "Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield", other names for PNT include "Teniente Julio Gallardo Airfield (Puerto Natales)" and "Aeródromo Teniente Julio Gallardo".

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.
• 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.
• The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• 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.
• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.