Nonstop flight route between Topeka, Kansas, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from TOP to LKZ:
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- About this route
- TOP Airport Information
- LKZ Airport Information
- Facts about TOP
- Facts about LKZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to TOP
- List of Nearest Airports to TOP
- Map of Furthest Airports from TOP
- List of Furthest Airports from TOP
- Map of Nearest Airports to LKZ
- List of Nearest Airports to LKZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from LKZ
- List of Furthest Airports from LKZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Philip Billard Municipal Airport (TOP), Topeka, Kansas, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,378 miles (or 7,045 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 Philip Billard Municipal 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 Philip Billard Municipal Airport and RAF Lakenheath. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | TOP / KTOP |
Airport Name: | Philip Billard Municipal Airport |
Location: | Topeka, Kansas, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°4'6"N by 95°37'21"W |
Operator/Owner: | Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 881 feet (269 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from TOP |
More Information: | TOP Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LKZ / EGUL |
Airport Name: | RAF Lakenheath |
Location: | Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°24'29"N by 0°33'24"E |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from LKZ |
More Information: | LKZ Maps & Info |
Facts about Philip Billard Municipal Airport (TOP):
- Because of Philip Billard Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 881 feet, planes can take off or land at Philip Billard Municipal 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 closest airport to Philip Billard Municipal Airport (TOP) is Lawrence Municipal Airport (LWC), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) E of TOP.
- The furthest airport from Philip Billard Municipal Airport (TOP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,703 miles (17,224 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Philip Billard Municipal Airport (TOP) has 3 runways.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- RAF Lakenheath, and nearby, RAF Mildenhall, are the two main U.S.
- On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.
- 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 April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.