Nonstop flight route between Riverside, California, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RAL to FFD:
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- About this route
- RAL Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about RAL
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to RAL
- List of Nearest Airports to RAL
- Map of Furthest Airports from RAL
- List of Furthest Airports from RAL
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL), Riverside, California, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,358 miles (or 8,624 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 Riverside 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 Riverside 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RAL / KRAL |
| Airport Name: | Riverside Municipal Airport |
| Location: | Riverside, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 33°57'6"N by 117°26'41"W |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Riverside |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 818 feet (249 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RAL |
| More Information: | RAL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
| Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
| Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
| More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Facts about Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL):
- The furthest airport from Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,462 miles (18,446 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Should there be plans to expand, the Airport's Master Plan supports lengthening runway 9/27 to 6,153 feet.
- Because of Riverside Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 818 feet, planes can take off or land at Riverside 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.
- Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) has 2 runways.
- "FedEx Express donated a Boeing 727-200F to California Baptist University for its new aviation science program.
- The closest airport to Riverside Municipal Airport (RAL) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NE of RAL.
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
- 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.
- On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
- 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.
- On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- 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.
