Nonstop flight route between Valcartier, Québec, Canada and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY), Valcartier, Québec, Canada and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,038 miles (or 4,889 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 Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport 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 Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport 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 Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY):

• The furthest airport from Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,480 miles (18,475 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• In July 1974, an explosives safety training accident involving "D" Company killed six cadets and injured over 50.
• The site was also used as an internment camp for "enemy aliens", mainly eastern Europeans.
• In 1968, after unification of the Canadian Forces, the title 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group was assigned to the brigade group established in CFB Valcartier.
• Because of Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport's relatively low elevation of 550 feet, planes can take off or land at Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport 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 closest airport to Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport (YOY) is Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SE of YOY.
• In addition to being known as "Valcartier (W/C J.H.L. (Joe) Lecomte) Heliport", other names for YOY include "2nd Canadian Division Support Base, Valcartier" and "Base des Forces canadiennes Valcartier".

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 runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.