Nonstop flight route between Smithton, Tasmania, Australia and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Smithton Airport (SIO), Smithton, Tasmania, Australia and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,598 miles (or 17,055 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 Smithton 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 Smithton 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 Smithton Airport (SIO):

• Smithton Airport (SIO) has 2 runways.
• Because of Smithton Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Smithton 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.
• The furthest airport from Smithton Airport (SIO) is Corvo Airport (CVU), which is nearly antipodal to Smithton Airport (meaning Smithton Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Corvo Airport), and is located 12,221 miles (19,667 kilometers) away in Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Smithton Airport (SIO) is Burnie Airport (BWT), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) ESE of SIO.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".
• In response to the threat by the Soviet Union, by the 1948 Berlin blockade, President Truman decided to realign USAFE into a permanent combat-capable force.
• 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.
• 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.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.