Nonstop flight route between Vernal, Utah, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VEL to FFD:
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- About this route
- VEL Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about VEL
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to VEL
- List of Nearest Airports to VEL
- Map of Furthest Airports from VEL
- List of Furthest Airports from VEL
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vernal Regional Airport (VEL), Vernal, Utah, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,738 miles (or 7,625 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 Vernal Regional Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Vernal Regional Airport and RAF Fairford. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | VEL / KVEL |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Vernal, Utah, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 40°26'26"N by 109°30'36"W |
| Area Served: | Vernal, Utah |
| Operator/Owner: | Uintah County & Vernal City |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5278 feet (1,609 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from VEL |
| More Information: | VEL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
| Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
| Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
| More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Facts about Vernal Regional Airport (VEL):
- The closest airport to Vernal Regional Airport (VEL) is Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS), which is located 83 miles (134 kilometers) NNE of VEL.
- Vernal Regional Airport is a mile southeast of Vernal, in Uintah County, Utah.
- The furthest airport from Vernal Regional Airport (VEL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,947 miles (17,617 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Because of Vernal Regional Airport's high elevation of 5,278 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at VEL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make VEL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- In addition to being known as "Vernal Regional Airport", another name for VEL is "Vernal - Uintah County Airport".
- Vernal Regional Airport (VEL) has 2 runways.
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
- Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
- 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.
- 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.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
- The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
- 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.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
