Nonstop flight route between Coningsby, England, United Kingdom and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from QCY to BIF:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- QCY Airport Information
- BIF Airport Information
- Facts about QCY
- Facts about BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to QCY
- List of Nearest Airports to QCY
- Map of Furthest Airports from QCY
- List of Furthest Airports from QCY
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Coningsby (QCY), Coningsby, England, United Kingdom and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,097 miles (or 8,203 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 RAF Coningsby and Biggs Army Airfield, 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 RAF Coningsby and Biggs Army Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | QCY / EGXC |
| Airport Name: | RAF Coningsby |
| Location: | Coningsby, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 53°5'35"N by 0°9'57"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from QCY |
| More Information: | QCY Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°50'57"N by 106°22'47"W |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 3946 feet (1,203 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BIF |
| More Information: | BIF Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Coningsby (QCY):
- The station is the home of No.
- The TSR2's intended replacement — the General Dynamics F-111 — was shelved when its costs overshot the UK's budget.
- Coningsby is also the home to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and their Visitor Centre.
- The Phantom's role changed to air defence in October 1974 when the base joined 11 Group in RAF Strike Command, when the SEPECAT Jaguar took over the ground attack role.
- The closest airport to RAF Coningsby (QCY) is RAF Binbrook (GSY), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) N of QCY.
- The furthest airport from RAF Coningsby (QCY) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,781 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- Following the Second World War, it had the Mosquito-equipped 109 Sqn and 139 Sqn, then became part of 3 Group, with Boeing Washington aircraft from 1950.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- While in Alaska, the 97th Bombardment Wing had been activated under the Hobson Plan, and the 97th Bomb Group became a subordinate organization under the wing.
- In 1958, the ability of the B-47 to penetrate Soviet airspace became compromised by improvements to the Soviet air defense system.
- The 97th Air Refueling Squadron, activated in March 1949, saw its manning increase as it received its first KB-29P in January 1950.
- The 97th operated B-29s from Biggs, and participated in numerous exercises, operational readiness inspections, and overseas deployments.
- After World War II, B-29 Superfortress personnel replacement training ended in October.
- The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
- In April 1943, the airfield came under the command of the Second Air Force and became headquarters for the XX Bomber Command.
- The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Prior to the takeover of Biggs by SAC in October 1948, it had previously moved the B-29 Superfortress-equipped 97th Bombardment Group to the base in May.
- With World War II imminent, a massive construction effort was begun at Biggs Army Airfield between 1942–1945.
