Nonstop flight route between Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Qualicum Beach Airport (XQU), Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,686 miles (or 7,542 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 Qualicum Beach Airport 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 Qualicum Beach Airport 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 Qualicum Beach Airport (XQU):

• Qualicum Beach Airport (XQU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Qualicum Beach Airport's relatively low elevation of 190 feet, planes can take off or land at Qualicum Beach 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.
• In addition to being known as "Qualicum Beach Airport", another name for XQU is "CAT4".
• The closest airport to Qualicum Beach Airport (XQU) is Nanaimo Harbour Water Airport (ZNA), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) ESE of XQU.
• The furthest airport from Qualicum Beach Airport (XQU) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,694 miles (17,211 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.

Facts about RAF Fairford (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.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
• 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.