Nonstop flight route between Riverside, California, United States and Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between March Air Reserve Base (RIV), Riverside, California, United States and RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,360 miles (or 8,626 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 March Air Reserve Base and RAF Brize Norton, 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 March Air Reserve Base and RAF Brize Norton. 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 March Air Reserve Base (RIV):

• The establishment of March Air Force Base began in the early 20th century at a time when the United States was rushing to build up its military forces in anticipation of an entry into World War I.
• The furthest airport from March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,461 miles (18,445 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• On 15 August 1947, the 1st Fighter Wing was activated as part of AAF Regulation 20-15, "Reorganization of AAF Base Units and Installations," on 27 June 1947.
• In the decade before World War II, March Field took on much of its current appearance and also began to gain prominence.
• The closest airport to March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of RIV.
• On 20 March 1918, Alessandro Flying Training Field became March Field, named in honor of Second Lieutenant Peyton C.

Facts about RAF Brize Norton (BZZ):

• On 19 September 2005, Brize Norton was closed as part of a major upgrade project.
• By the 1950s Cold War tension was escalating and the United States envisaged stationing nuclear bombers in the United Kingdom as a deterrent to Soviet aggression.
• By March 2011, 70 buildings had been refurbished on the station.
• Major infrastructure redevelopment began in 2010 ahead of the closure of RAF Lyneham in 2012, at which point Brize Norton became the sole air point of embarkation for British troops.
• The closest airport to RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WSW of BZZ.
• On 23 May 2001 the RAF's first C-17 arrived at Brize Norton, one of six to be delivered to 99 Squadron.
• The furthest airport from RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,888 miles (19,132 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The station is home to Air Transport, Air-to-Air refuelling and Military Parachuting, with aircraft operating from the station including the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Airbus A330 MRTT Voyager which replaced the now decommissioned Lockheed TriStar in March 2014.
• During the 2003 Iraq War four anti-war protesters managed to access the main runway in an attempt to prevent aircraft taking off.
• 101 Squadron reformed at Brize Norton on 1 May 1984, it previously operated the Avro Vulcan and participated in the Operation Black Buck missions of the Falklands War.