Nonstop flight route between Chesterfield, Missouri, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS), Chesterfield, Missouri, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,214 miles (or 6,782 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 Spirit of St. Louis 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 Spirit of St. Louis 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 Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS):

• The closest airport to Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS) is Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of SUS.
• Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,971 miles (17,656 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 2007, the airport finished a multi-million dollar expansion project to add a parallel taxiway to the north of 26R/8L.
• Because of Spirit of St. Louis Airport's relatively low elevation of 463 feet, planes can take off or land at Spirit of St. Louis 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.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• RAF Lakenheath, and nearby, RAF Mildenhall, are the two main U.S.
• By the time construction ended the war with Germany was over and RAF Lakenheath was put on a care and maintenance status.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• By 1950, Lakenheath was one of three main operating bases for the U.S.
• 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.
• Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel.
• The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• 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.