Nonstop flight route between San Jose, California, United States and Lakenheath, 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 Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,337 miles (or 8,589 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 Lakenheath, 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 Lakenheath. 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):

• Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV) has 2 runways.
• Reid-Hillview is a general aviation airport.
• 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.
• The airport was the origin for an emergency supply airlift to the Watsonville Municipal Airport following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, after mountain and coastal roads were blocked, cutting off Santa Cruz and Watsonville from relief efforts by ground.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.
• In response to the threat by the Soviet Union, by the 1948 Berlin blockade, President Truman decided to realign USAFE into a permanent combat-capable force.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.