Nonstop flight route between San Luis Obispo, California, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP), San Luis Obispo, California, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,425 miles (or 8,731 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 San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport 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 San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport 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 San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP):

• The furthest airport from San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 212 feet, planes can take off or land at San Luis Obispo County Regional 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 1947 county supervisors contracted for another hangar, ramp, and eventually an administration building.
• The federal government took over the airport during World War II and turned control back to the county in 1946.
• San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, McChesney Field, is near San Luis Obispo, California.
• The closest airport to San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) is O'Sullivan Army Heliport (CSL), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) NW of SBP.
• San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) has 2 runways.
• 903-5 AIRPORT DRIVE SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93401
• In addition to being known as "San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport", another name for SBP is "McChesney Field".

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".
• 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.
• 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 work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• 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.
• In 1941, hard runways were put down with the main runway, 04/22, being 2,000 yards, and the subsidiaries, 12/30 at 1,300 yards and 16/34 at 1,400 yards.