Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW), Tacoma, Washington, United States and RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,779 miles (or 7,690 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 Tacoma Narrows Airport and RAF Benson, 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 Tacoma Narrows Airport and RAF Benson. 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 Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW):

• Because of Tacoma Narrows Airport's relatively low elevation of 294 feet, planes can take off or land at Tacoma Narrows 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.
• Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SSE of TIW.
• The furthest airport from Tacoma Narrows Airport (TIW) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,797 miles (17,376 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Tacoma Narrows Airport is a county owned, public use airport located 5 mi west of the central business district of Tacoma, a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States.

Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):

• The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
• Building work for RAF Benson began in 1937.
• The station is today the home to four squadrons of Support Helicopters, 28 Squadron, 78 Squadron with Merlin helicopters and 33 Squadron and 230 Squadron with Puma helicopters.
• The future of RAF Benson was in doubt for some time, while Project Belvedere was looking into closing at least one of Joint Helicopter Command's airfields.
• The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The station retained a reconnaissance role for some years after the war, with Avro Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito, Gloster Meteor PR.Mk 10 and English Electric Canberra PR.Mk 3 aircraft.