Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Richmond, Virginia, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to RIC:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- RIC Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about RIC
- 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 RIC
- List of Nearest Airports to RIC
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIC
- List of Furthest Airports from RIC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Richmond International Airport (RIC), Richmond, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,668 miles (or 5,903 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 Richmond 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 Richmond 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: | RIC / KRIC |
Airport Name: | Richmond International Airport |
Location: | Richmond, Virginia, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°30'18"N by 77°19'9"W |
Area Served: | Richmond, Virginia |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 167 feet (51 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from RIC |
More Information: | RIC 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.
- 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 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
- On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
Facts about Richmond International Airport (RIC):
- Richmond International Airport (RIC) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Richmond International Airport (RIC) is A.P. Hill Army Airfield (APH), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) N of RIC.
- Richmond International Airport handled 3,311,747 passengers last year.
- In November 2012, RIC served 262,146 passengers.
- Richmond International Airport is the busiest airport in central Virginia.
- Until October 2007, the 192d Fighter Wing, an Air Combat Command -gained unit of the Virginia Air National Guard, maintained an Air National Guard station, operating F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft from the airport.
- The furthest airport from Richmond International Airport (RIC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,698 miles (18,827 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Richmond International Airport's relatively low elevation of 167 feet, planes can take off or land at Richmond 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.
- To help accommodate the current and proposed increase in passengers and air service, RIC has embarked on a major expansion program.
- The airport was dedicated as Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field in 1927 in honor of aviator Richard E.