Nonstop flight route between Pittsburg, Kansas, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Atkinson Municipal Airport (PTS), Pittsburg, Kansas, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,363 miles (or 7,021 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 Atkinson Municipal Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Atkinson Municipal Airport and RAF Fairford. 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 Atkinson Municipal Airport (PTS):

• The furthest airport from Atkinson Municipal Airport (PTS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,752 miles (17,304 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Atkinson Municipal Airport (PTS) is Fort Scott Municipal Airport (FSK), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) N of PTS.
• Because of Atkinson Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 950 feet, planes can take off or land at Atkinson Municipal 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.
• Inactivated October 20, 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program and was declared surplus in 1946.
• Atkinson Municipal Airport (PTS) has 2 runways.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
• On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.