Nonstop flight route between Qingshan, China and Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC), Qingshan, China and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ), Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,157 miles (or 8,300 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 Xichang Qingshan Airport and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375, 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 Xichang Qingshan Airport and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375. 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 Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC):

• The furthest airport from Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Xichang Qingshan Airport (meaning Xichang Qingshan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,015 miles (19,337 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) is Zhaotong Airport (ZAT), which is located 107 miles (171 kilometers) ESE of XIC.
• In addition to being known as "Xichang Qingshan Airport", other names for XIC include "西昌青山机场" and "Xīchāng Qīngshān Jīchǎng".
• Because of Xichang Qingshan Airport's high elevation of 5,112 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at XIC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make XIC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ):

• In 1941, a Junkers Ju 88 was shot down by ground fire from Honington.
• Construction of Honington airfield began in 1935, and the facility was opened on 3 May 1937.
• The furthest airport from RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,834 miles (19,044 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of BEQ.
• English Electric Canberra bomber squadrons, 10, XV, 44, and 57 were based at RAF Honington from February 1955 to 1957.
• IX Squadron flew the first RAF bombing raid of the Second World War on 4 September 1939 flying a mission against the Kriegsmarine in the Baltic resulting in the loss of two Wellingtons.
• With the departure of the USAAF in February 1946, Honington airfield was returned to the RAF.
• The group patrolled the English Channel during the Normandy invasion in June 1944, and, while continuing escort operations, supported ground forces in France after the invasion by strafing and bombing locomotives, marshalling yards, bridges, barges, and other targets.