Nonstop flight route between Chicago/Prospect Heights/Wheeling, Illinois, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chicago Executive Airport (PWK), Chicago/Prospect Heights/Wheeling, Illinois, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,878 miles (or 6,241 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 Chicago Executive 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 Chicago Executive 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 Chicago Executive Airport (PWK):

• Tenants of the airport include two national fixed base operators, Atlantic Aviation and Signature Flight Support, who provide fueling and handling for transient aircraft and a significant portion of the locally based aircraft.
• Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) has 3 runways.
• Charlie Priester kept an FBO at the airport along with a charter company called Priester Aviation.
• The furthest airport from Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,069 miles (17,813 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Chicago Executive Airport's relatively low elevation of 647 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Executive 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 closest airport to Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) is Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) S of PWK.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.