Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to PIE:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- PIE Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about PIE
- 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 PIE
- List of Nearest Airports to PIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from PIE
- List of Furthest Airports from PIE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE), Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,353 miles (or 7,006 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 St. Pete–Clearwater 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 St. Pete–Clearwater 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: | PIE / KPIE |
Airport Name: | St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport |
Location: | Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 27°54'36"N by 82°41'15"W |
Area Served: | St. Petersburg / Clearwater, Florida |
Operator/Owner: | County of Pinellas |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 11 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from PIE |
More Information: | PIE Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- 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.
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- 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.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
Facts about St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE):
- Construction of the airport at its present site started in March 1941.
- The closest airport to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Clearwater Air Park (CLW), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NW of PIE.
- Because of St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Pete–Clearwater 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.
- After World War II, the airport property was returned to Pinellas County by the U.S.
- The furthest airport from St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,426 miles (18,388 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
- St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) has 4 runways.