Nonstop flight route between Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States and RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,815 miles (or 6,139 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and RAF Benson, 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and RAF Benson. 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):

• The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• By 1934, American Airlines began service to Roanoke, but they later moved their operations to Lynchburg in 1937 due to the poor conditions in Roanoke.
• In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".
• Roanoke Regional saw 685,000 passengers in 2007, with 71 percent on-time departures and 68 percent on-time arrivals.
• Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.
• Between 1984–1985, the city of Roanoke developed an Airport Master Plan calling for $43.8 million to be spent in the development of a new terminal building, in addition to other improvements throughout the site.
• Designed for future expansion to accommodate additional aircraft, there has been talk of a terminal expansion, though official plans have yet to be announced.
• Twenty-nine air traffic controllers work the Roanoke air traffic control facility, which in addition to the tower includes a TRACON, that also provides air traffic services for Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake, New London, Brookneal and the Falwell Airport in Lynchburg.
• Piedmont service originally commenced on April 16, 1948, with only a pair of flights, which carried 42 passengers.
• During the period of Piedmont’s dominance, several regional airlines established service to Roanoke only to later pull out.
• In the period following the Piedmont-USAir merger, Roanoke has seen various carriers enter and exit the local market.
• The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.

Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):

• The station retained a reconnaissance role for some years after the war, with Avro Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito, Gloster Meteor PR.Mk 10 and English Electric Canberra PR.Mk 3 aircraft.
• The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
• The airfield is a well-known frost hollow, often recording the coldest temperatures in the UK.