Nonstop flight route between Wanganui, New Zealand and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wanganui Airport (WAG), Wanganui, New Zealand and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,538 miles (or 18,568 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 Wanganui 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 Wanganui Airport and RAF Lakenheath. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Wanganui Airport (WAG):

• Because of Wanganui Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Wanganui 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 Wanganui Airport (WAG) is Palmerston North Airport (PMR), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) SE of WAG.
• The furthest airport from Wanganui Airport (WAG) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Wanganui Airport (meaning Wanganui Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• Wanganui Airport (WAG) has 5 runways.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• Aircraft of the 48th FW carry the tail code "LN".
• 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.
• The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was in World War I, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area.
• On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.
• In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, 40 Horsa Gliders being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.
• A near nuclear accident occurred on 27 July 1956 – when a B-47 bomber crashed into a storage igloo at Lakenheath containing three MK-6 nuclear weapons while on a routine training mission.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Taking part in more than 350 operations, more than half mine-laying, 149 Squadron had one of the lowest percentage loss rates of all Stirling squadrons.