Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to NQX:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- NQX Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about NQX
- 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 NQX
- List of Nearest Airports to NQX
- Map of Furthest Airports from NQX
- List of Furthest Airports from NQX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,480 miles (or 7,210 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 NAS Key West, 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 NAS Key West. 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: | NQX / KNQX |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 24°34'32"N by 81°41'20"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Military: Naval Air Station |
Elevation: | 6 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from NQX |
More Information: | NQX Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- 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.
- 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.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about NAS Key West (NQX):
- NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to NAS Key West (NQX) is Key West International Airport (EYW), which is located only 5 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of NQX.
- In 1973, Reconnaissance Attack Wing 1 began relocation from the closing NAS Albany, Georgia with its RA-5C Vigilante, TA-3B Skywarrior and TA-4F/J Skyhawk II aircraft.
- The furthest airport from NAS Key West (NQX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,575 miles (18,629 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- By 1943, German submarines were operating so near Key West that they were sinking allied ships within sight of land.
- In addition to being known as "NAS Key West", other names for NQX include "Naval Air Station Key West" and "NQX[1]".
- The nation's southernmost Naval Base proved to be an ideal year-round training facility with rapid access to the open sea lanes and ideal flying conditions for Naval Aviation.
- Because of NAS Key West's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Key West 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.
- By 1964, the USAF added an AN/FPS-6A height-finder radar at NAS Key West, which was modified to an AN/FPS-90 set when a second radar was added.