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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between March Air Reserve Base (RIV), Riverside, California, United States and Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,433 miles (or 8,743 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 Gatwick Airport, 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 Gatwick Airport. 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):

• After the war, March was assigned to the new Tactical Air Command as part of the postwar reorganization of the Army Air Force.
• March is one of the oldest airfields operated by the United States military, being established as Alessandro Flying Training Field in February 1918.
• 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.
• In 1947, the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated as part of a service-wide, wing-base test and assigned to March.
• However, by 1921, the decision had been made to phase down all activities at the base in accordance with sharply reduced military budgets.
• Few members of the 1st Fighter Group foresaw subsequent difficulties in the summer of 1946 as they trained with their new jet fighters.
• At the same time, the War Department announced its intentions to build several new military installations.
• The closest airport to March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of RIV.

Facts about Gatwick Airport (LGW):

• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
• The furthest airport from Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,901 miles (19,152 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Caledonian Airways purchased British United Airways in November 1970, and the combined airline was initially known as Caledonian/BUA.
• On 1 May 1963, non-scheduled operators began implementing the Ministry of Aviation's instruction to transfer all regular charter flights from Heathrow to Gatwick, restricting the former's use for non-scheduled operations to "occasional" charter flights.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• Because of Gatwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 203 feet, planes can take off or land at Gatwick 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.
• In November 1948, the airport's owners warned that it might revert to private use by November 1949.
• The name "Gatwick" was first recorded as "Gatwik" in 1241 on the site of today's airport, on the northern edge of the North Terminal's aircraft taxiing area.
• During the late 1920s, land adjacent to the racecourse was used as an aerodrome.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.