Nonstop flight route between Braintree, England, United Kingdom and St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom and RAF Leuchars (ADX), St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 333 miles (or 536 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 MDPGA Wethersfield and RAF Leuchars, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF):

• In August 1976 the 66th CSS became Detachment 1, 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, based at RAF Alconbury.
• MDPGA Wethersfield is a Ministry of Defence facility in Essex, England, located north of the village of Wethersfield, about 6 mi north-west of the town of Braintree.
• Woodbridge was operated as a detachment of the 20th FBW until 8 July 1958, when the 20th FBW/TFW handed over control to the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing.
• The closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.
• The 819th, along with the 2166th Communications Squadron, were the main units at Wethersfeld until the USAF returned the base to the British in 1990 due to budget cutbacks.
• The furthest airport from MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,856 miles (19,080 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In June 1955 the 20th FBW started receiving the F-84F "Thunderstreak" in addition to its F-84Ds and F-84Gs.
• Soon after the Americans departed for France, Wethersfield was returned to RAF control, becoming the home for 196 and 299 Squadrons, 38 Group, RAF Bomber Command.
• The 20th began realigning its units 15 March 1957 as part of an Air Force worldwide reorganization.
• Because of MDPGA Wethersfield's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at MDPGA Wethersfield 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.
• In 1978 the British and American Governments agreed to establish a Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers unit in the UK.
• In 1951, as a result of the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union, the British provided RAF Wethersfield to the USAF as part of their NATO commitment.
• During the late 1940s the base was used as a winter camping ground for Chipperfield's Circus.
• In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".
• MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.

Facts about RAF Leuchars (ADX):

• The furthest airport from RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,678 miles (18,793 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• RAF Leuchars is commanded by an Air Commodore instead of a Group Captain who would usually be given command of a station.
• As the Navy embraced the value of aviation, the aircraft carrier was added to its inventory.
• On 18 July 2011 Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced that RAF Leuchars would close, whilst RAF Lossiemouth in Moray would be spared as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
• In 1935 Leuchars became home to Number 1 Flying Training School and ranges for practice bombing were established in Tentsmuir Forest.
• The closest airport to RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Dundee Airport (DND), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NW of ADX.
• The other operational UK air defence base since June 2007 is RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, which operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4.
• The next generation of jets to be stationed at Leuchars were the Hawker Hunter and the Gloster Javelin, with air-sea rescue services provided by Westland Whirlwind helicopters.