Nonstop flight route between Valence, France and High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VAF to HYC:
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- About this route
- VAF Airport Information
- HYC Airport Information
- Facts about VAF
- Facts about HYC
- Map of Nearest Airports to VAF
- List of Nearest Airports to VAF
- Map of Furthest Airports from VAF
- List of Furthest Airports from VAF
- Map of Nearest Airports to HYC
- List of Nearest Airports to HYC
- Map of Furthest Airports from HYC
- List of Furthest Airports from HYC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF), Valence, France and RAF High Wycombe (HYC), High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 537 miles (or 864 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 Valence - Chabeuil Airport and RAF High Wycombe, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VAF / LFLU |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Valence, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°54'56"N by 4°58'6"E |
Area Served: | Valence, Drôme, France |
Operator/Owner: | Department of Drôme |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 525 feet (160 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from VAF |
More Information: | VAF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HYC / EGUH |
Airport Name: | RAF High Wycombe |
Location: | High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'53"N by 0°48'6"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from HYC |
More Information: | HYC Maps & Info |
Facts about Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF):
- The closest airport to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Grenoble–Isère Airport (GNB), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of VAF.
- The furthest airport from Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Valence - Chabeuil Airport (meaning Valence - Chabeuil Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,333 miles (19,848 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- In 1945 the Armée de l'Air returned to its airfield and it returned to its prewar status as an active air base.
- After the forceful occupation of Vichy France in November 1942 as a result of Case Anton Wehrmacht units moved into the Valence area and the airport came under the control of the Luftwaffe.
- In addition to being known as "Valence - Chabeuil Airport", other names for VAF include "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-23" and "Aéroport de Valence - Chabeuil".
- Valence - Chabeuil Airport (VAF) has 3 runways.
- Because of Valence - Chabeuil Airport's relatively low elevation of 525 feet, planes can take off or land at Valence - Chabeuil 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.
- Used by the French Air Force base after the war, it was closed and today the airport is used for general aviation, with no commercial airline service.
Facts about RAF High Wycombe (HYC):
- The actor David Jason officially opened the station's new welfare centre, named after Wing Commander Alan Oakeshott, in July 2011.
- Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, the Air Ministry sought a safe location for RAF Bomber Command away from London.
- The closest airport to RAF High Wycombe (HYC) is RAF Benson (BEX), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) WSW of HYC.
- The furthest airport from RAF High Wycombe (HYC) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,867 miles (19,098 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- RAF High Wycombe is situated roughly three miles from the town of High Wycombe over three sites - No 1 Site houses the Command HQ and the Combined Air Operations Centre, No 2 Site houses the officers' mess, while No 3 site is the domestic site, airmen and NCO's quarters, MT yard, PT flight and Supply Flight.
- Since 2009, the station has been responsible for reviewing UFO sightings as part of efforts to identify any possible unauthorised military incursions into UK airspace.
- Operationally during the Cold War the Director UKWMO would have been located at the United Kingdom Regional Air Operations Command within Strike Command's Operations Centre nuclear bunker at RAF High Wycombe to instigate the national Four minute air raid warnings, with the Deputy Director located at a standby UK RAOC, described at the time as being "elsewhere in the UK", but has since been revealed as being at Goosnargh near Preston within the UKWMO Western Sector nuclear bunker.