Nonstop flight route between Braintree, England, United Kingdom and Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom and NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX), Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,546 miles (or 5,706 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 MDPGA Wethersfield and NAS JRB Willow Grove, 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 MDPGA Wethersfield and NAS JRB Willow Grove. 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 MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF):

• 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.
• MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.
• Formerly known as RAF Wethersfield, it opened in 1944.
• 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.
• The 20th began realigning its units 15 March 1957 as part of an Air Force worldwide reorganization.
• 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.
• Starting in July 1966, bases in Turkey, Spain, and Italy were transferred from Tactical Air Command to USAFE.
• During the late 1940s the base was used as a winter camping ground for Chipperfield's Circus.
• The group returned to the United States in July 1945 and was inactivated at Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts, on 23 October 1945.
• In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".
• The closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.

Facts about NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX):

• Currently, the 111th Fighter Wing, operating the A-10 Thunderbolt II, has lost all its aircraft to other ANG Squadrons under BRAC.
• On May 28, 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure commission recommended that NAS JRB Willow Grove be closed as part of the 2005 BRAC round, that the tenant Air Force Reserve Command airlift wing be inactivated and that Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve flying units relocate to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey as tenant units.
• The closest airport to NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) is Wings Field (BBX), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) SW of NXX.
• The furthest airport from NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,726 miles (18,871 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of NAS JRB Willow Grove's relatively low elevation of 335 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS JRB Willow Grove 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.