Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Phalaborwa, South Africa:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to PHW:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- PHW Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about PHW
- 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 PHW
- List of Nearest Airports to PHW
- Map of Furthest Airports from PHW
- List of Furthest Airports from PHW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW), Phalaborwa, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,593 miles (or 9,002 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 Hendrik Van Eck 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 Hendrik Van Eck 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: | PHW / FAPH |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Phalaborwa, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 23°56'12"S by 31°9'18"E |
Area Served: | Phalaborwa, South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1432 feet (436 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PHW |
More Information: | PHW Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- 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.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- 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.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- 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 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
Facts about Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW):
- The closest airport to Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) is Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SSW of PHW.
- Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,944 miles (19,222 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- In addition to being known as "Hendrik Van Eck Airport", another name for PHW is "Phalaborwa Airport".