Nonstop flight route between San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States and Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gillespie Field (SEE), San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States and Bristol Filton Airport (FZO), Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,387 miles (or 8,669 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 Gillespie Field and Bristol Filton 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 Gillespie Field and Bristol Filton 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 Gillespie Field (SEE):

• In February 1944, the camp was commissioned as Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Gillespie under the command of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro.
• The closest airport to Gillespie Field (SEE) is Montgomery Field (MYF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) W of SEE.
• The furthest airport from Gillespie Field (SEE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,534 miles (18,562 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Gillespie Field's relatively low elevation of 388 feet, planes can take off or land at Gillespie Field 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.
• Gillespie is the home of the restoration facility Gillespie Field Annex for the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
• Gillespie Field (SEE) has 3 runways.

Facts about Bristol Filton Airport (FZO):

• Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bristol Filton Airport or Filton Aerodrome was an airport on the border between Filton and Patchway, within South Gloucestershire, 4 NM north of Bristol, England.
• Because of Bristol Filton Airport's relatively low elevation of 225 feet, planes can take off or land at Bristol Filton 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 1948, 501 Squadron was equipped with De Havilland Vampire jets.
• The furthest airport from Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,930 miles (19,200 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) is Bristol Airport (BRS), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSW of FZO.
• Before WWII there was a belief that German bombers had insufficient range to reach Filton, however, the invasion of France by the Nazis in 1940 changed the situation.
• After the disbanding of 501 squadron, Bristol Siddeley Engine apprentices used Barnwell Hall for accommodation and Bristol University Air Squadron continued to use some of the RAF facilities.
• In addition to being known as "Bristol Filton Airport", another name for FZO is "Filton Aerodrome".
• The manufacture of aeroplanes started in 1910, when Sir George White, the owner of Bristol Tramways, established the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company in the maintenance sheds of Bristol Tramways.