Nonstop flight route between San Jose, California, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV), San Jose, California, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,303 miles (or 8,535 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 Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County 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 Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County 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 Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV):

• At Reid-Hillview, fixed base operators compete for fuel sales, aircraft rentals and/or flight training.
• The closest airport to Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV) is Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WNW of RHV.
• Reid-Hillview is a general aviation airport.
• Groundbreaking for Reid-Hillview airport came in 1937.
• In 2010 San Jose State University's Aviation program relocated to Reid-Hillview.
• Because of Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County's relatively low elevation of 133 feet, planes can take off or land at Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County 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.
• Reid-Hillview was a single runway airport until 1965, when a second runway was added.
• The furthest airport from Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,361 miles (18,283 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• VTA has plans for a bus rapid transit line from the Diridon train station in downtown San Jose to the Eastridge Transit Center.
• Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV) has 2 runways.
• Capitol Expressway is at the entrance to the airport at Cunningham Ave.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.