Nonstop flight route between Porterville, California, United States and Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Porterville Municipal AirportPorterville Army Airfield (PTV), Porterville, California, United States and RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,296 miles (or 8,523 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 Porterville Municipal AirportPorterville Army Airfield and RAF Brize Norton, 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 Porterville Municipal AirportPorterville Army Airfield and RAF Brize Norton. 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 Porterville Municipal AirportPorterville Army Airfield (PTV):

• The closest airport to Porterville Municipal AirportPorterville Army Airfield (PTV) is Mefford Field (TLR), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) WNW of PTV.
• Porterville Municipal AirportPorterville Army Airfield (PTV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Porterville Municipal AirportPorterville Army Airfield (PTV) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,368 miles (18,294 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• At the end of the war the airfield was determined to be excess by the military and turned over to the local government for civil use.
• Because of Porterville Municipal AirportPorterville Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 442 feet, planes can take off or land at Porterville Municipal AirportPorterville Army 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.

Facts about RAF Brize Norton (BZZ):

• The closest airport to RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WSW of BZZ.
• By the 1950s Cold War tension was escalating and the United States envisaged stationing nuclear bombers in the United Kingdom as a deterrent to Soviet aggression.
• The furthest airport from RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,888 miles (19,132 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• RAF Brize Norton was opened in 1937 as a training station and one of the first squadrons to use the airfield was No.
• During the 2003 Iraq War four anti-war protesters managed to access the main runway in an attempt to prevent aircraft taking off.
• With the closure of RAF Lyneham taking place in late 2011, the repatriation of British personnel was relocated to Brize Norton on 8 September 2011.
• RAF Brize Norton Flying Club resides at the station providing low cost flying for MOD personnel and training to PPL level and above.
• By 1950 the USAF Strategic Air Command was based at RAF Lakenheath, RAF Marham, and RAF Sculthorpe.