Nonstop flight route between Yichang, Hubei, China and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH), Yichang, Hubei, China and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,360 miles (or 8,625 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 Yichang Sanxia Airport and RAF Lakenheath, 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 Yichang Sanxia Airport and RAF Lakenheath. 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 Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH):

• The closest airport to Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH) is Shashi Airport (SHS), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) ESE of YIH.
• Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH) is Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Airport (UAQ), which is nearly antipodal to Yichang Sanxia Airport (meaning Yichang Sanxia Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in San Juan Province, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Yichang Sanxia Airport", other names for YIH include "宜昌三峡机场" and "Yíchāng Sānxiá Jīchǎng".

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Meanwhile on 30 April 1956, two Lockheed U-2s were airlifted to RAF Lakenheath to form CIA Detachment A.
• In 1941, hard runways were put down with the main runway, 04/22, being 2,000 yards, and the subsidiaries, 12/30 at 1,300 yards and 16/34 at 1,400 yards.
• In response to the threat by the Soviet Union, by the 1948 Berlin blockade, President Truman decided to realign USAFE into a permanent combat-capable force.