Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Fort Greely, Delta Junction, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to BIG:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- BIG Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about BIG
- 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 BIG
- List of Nearest Airports to BIG
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIG
- List of Furthest Airports from BIG
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Allen Army Airfield (BIG), Fort Greely, Delta Junction, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,212 miles (or 6,778 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 Allen Army Airfield, 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 Allen Army Airfield. 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: | BIG / PABI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Fort Greely, Delta Junction, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 63°59'43"N by 145°43'11"W |
Area Served: | Fort Greely, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | United States Army |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 1291 feet (393 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from BIG |
More Information: | BIG Maps & Info |
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.
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Allen Army Airfield (BIG):
- Allen Army Airfield (BIG) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Allen Army Airfield (BIG) is Delta Junction Airport (DJN), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) N of BIG.
- Two runways are lighted and can accommodate heavy cargo aircraft year-round, including the C-141.
- In addition to being known as "Allen Army Airfield", another name for BIG is "(former Big Delta Army Airfield)".
- The furthest airport from Allen Army Airfield (BIG) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,331 miles (16,625 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.