Nonstop flight route between Værøy, Nordland, Norway and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Værøy Heliport (VRY), Værøy, Nordland, Norway and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,207 miles (or 1,943 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 Værøy 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 Værøy Heliport (VRY):

• In addition to being known as "Værøy Heliport", another name for VRY is "Værøy helikopterhavn".
• Nordland County Municipality started a helicopter service from Værøy to Bodø on 1 January 1993, using the old heliport at Hanna Bakken-jordet.
• The closest airport to Værøy Heliport (VRY) is Røst Airport (RET), which is located only 19 miles (30 kilometers) WSW of VRY.
• Helikopter Service flew between Bodø Airport to Værøy and Røst—the island community further out from Værøy—with three weekly services from 1973.
• Because of Værøy Heliport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Værøy 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 furthest airport from Værøy Heliport (VRY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 10,759 miles (17,314 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• On 19 January 1989, a Widerøe Twin Otter became uncontrollable due to turbulence during final approach to Værøy.
• Widerøe commenced seaplane operates to Værøy from 1965.
• Værøy Heliport handled 10,210 passengers last year.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
• 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.