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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between CFB Comox (YQQ), Comox, British Columbia, Canada and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,677 miles (or 7,527 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 CFB Comox 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 CFB Comox 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 CFB Comox (YQQ):

• From 1946 until 1952 the base was mothballed until tensions resulting from the Korean War and Cold War prompted reactivation and the establishment of a permanent RCAF base on Canada's Pacific coast.
• In addition to being known as "CFB Comox", another name for YQQ is "Comox Airport".
• The furthest airport from CFB Comox (YQQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,677 miles (17,182 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• CFB Comox is the location of the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue, where all para-rescue specialists in the Canadian Forces, known as Search And Rescue Technicians or "SAR Techs", undergo training.
• CFB Comox (YQQ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to CFB Comox (YQQ) is Courtenay Airpark (YCA), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) WSW of YQQ.
• Because of CFB Comox's relatively low elevation of 84 feet, planes can take off or land at CFB Comox 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.
• 19 Wing also includes the 19 Air Maintenance Squadron, and a number of other organizations.
• CFB Comox is used by the Royal Canadian Air Cadets for glider and powered flight training, training Glider Pilots on Schweizer SGS 2-33A's and housing the cadets training on Cessna 172's respectively in the summer months.
• CFB Comox serves as a forward operating base for temporary deployments of the CF-18 Hornet fighter-interceptor.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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 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.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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 was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.