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):

• Rental cars are located in the same building with the Airport Shoppe at the airport entrance.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV) has 2 runways.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.
• The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, 40 Horsa Gliders being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.
• 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.