Nonstop flight route between State College, Pennsylvania, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between University Park Airport (SCE), State College, Pennsylvania, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,616 miles (or 5,820 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 University Park 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 University Park 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 University Park Airport (SCE):

• Construction on the airport's new control tower began on January 8, 2010 and was completed in early August 2011.
• University Park Airport is a public airport located in Benner Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania.
• The closest airport to University Park Airport (SCE) is Mid-State Regional Airport (PSB), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) W of SCE.
• University Park Airport (SCE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from University Park Airport (SCE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,582 miles (18,639 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "University Park Airport", another name for SCE is "UNV".

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• Lakenheath Airfield was used by RAF flying units on detachment late in 1941.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel.
• 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 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.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.