Nonstop flight route between Tresco, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tresco Heliport (TSO), Tresco, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 232 miles (or 373 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 relatively short distance between Tresco Heliport and RAF Fairford, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Tresco Heliport (TSO):

• The furthest airport from Tresco Heliport (TSO) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Tresco Heliport (meaning Tresco Heliport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,116 miles (19,499 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Tresco's principal industry is tourism, and the heliport supported this by enabling scheduled helicopter service to and from the mainland.
• Because of Tresco Heliport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Tresco Heliport 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 Tresco Heliport (TSO) is St Mary's Airport (ISC), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SE of TSO.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
• On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.
• The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.