Nonstop flight route between Braintree, England, United Kingdom and Tarawa, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom and Bonriki International Airport (TRW), Tarawa, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,725 miles (or 14,042 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 Bonriki International Airport, 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 Bonriki International Airport. 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):

• As the American involvement in the Vietnam War wound down, the role of RED HORSE units in peacetime came into question.
• The 20th Fighter Bomber Wing established an operational detachment at Wheelus AB, Libya, in February 1958.
• In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".
• 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.
• The 20th began realigning its units 15 March 1957 as part of an Air Force worldwide reorganization.
• In August 1976 the 66th CSS became Detachment 1, 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, based at RAF Alconbury.
• 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 closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.
• MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.
• During the late 1940s the base was used as a winter camping ground for Chipperfield's Circus.
• 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.
• Starting in July 1966, bases in Turkey, Spain, and Italy were transferred from Tactical Air Command to USAFE.
• Wethersfield was allocated by the RAF to the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force in August 1942.
• The closure of US bases in France forced the opening of RAF Greenham Common under 20th TFW management to handle personnel overflow beginning in January 1967.

Facts about Bonriki International Airport (TRW):

• The furthest airport from Bonriki International Airport (TRW) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is nearly antipodal to Bonriki International Airport (meaning Bonriki International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cape Palmas Airport), and is located 12,035 miles (19,368 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
• Almost immediately after the completion of the runway, it became the nexus of United States Army Air Forces operations from Tarawa, as the runway at nearby Hawkins Field on Betio was too short for safe bomber operations.
• Because of Bonriki International Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Bonriki International 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 airport was built in December 1943 by United States Navy Seabees and was named "Mullinix Field", in honor of Rear Admiral Henry M.
• Bonriki International Airport (TRW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Bonriki International Airport (TRW) is Abaiang Atoll Airport (ABF), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NNW of TRW.