Nonstop flight route between Washabo, Suriname and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Washabo Airstrip (WSO), Washabo, Suriname and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,491 miles (or 7,228 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 Washabo Airstrip 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 Washabo Airstrip and RAF Fairford. 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 Washabo Airstrip (WSO):

• Because of Washabo Airstrip's relatively low elevation of 145 feet, planes can take off or land at Washabo Airstrip 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 Washabo Airstrip (WSO) is Majoor Henry Fernandes Airport (ICK), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) N of WSO.
• In addition to being known as "Washabo Airstrip", another name for WSO is "SMWS".
• The furthest airport from Washabo Airstrip (WSO) is Betoambari Airport (BUW), which is nearly antipodal to Washabo Airstrip (meaning Washabo Airstrip is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Betoambari Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,976 kilometers) away in Bau-Bau, Buton, Indonesia.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.