Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to ABE:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- ABE Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about ABE
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to ABE
- List of Nearest Airports to ABE
- Map of Furthest Airports from ABE
- List of Furthest Airports from ABE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE), Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,451 miles (or 5,553 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 RAF Fairford and Lehigh Valley International Airport, 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 RAF Fairford and Lehigh Valley International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ABE / KABE |
Airport Name: | Lehigh Valley International Airport |
Location: | Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°39'8"N by 75°26'25"W |
Area Served: | Lehigh Valley |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 393 feet (120 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ABE |
More Information: | ABE Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- 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.
- 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.
- Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- 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 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.
Facts about Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE):
- Naval pilot training graduation ceremony at the Allentown PA Airport – 1943
- Because of Lehigh Valley International Airport's relatively low elevation of 393 feet, planes can take off or land at Lehigh Valley International 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.
- The furthest airport from Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,695 miles (18,821 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- In April 1946 the Lehigh Airport Authority was created to own and manage the airport.
- Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) is Quakertown Airport (UKT), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of ABE.
- During World War II the U.