Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Shelton, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to SHN:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- SHN Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about SHN
- 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 SHN
- List of Nearest Airports to SHN
- Map of Furthest Airports from SHN
- List of Furthest Airports from SHN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Sanderson Field (SHN), Shelton, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,774 miles (or 7,682 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 Sanderson Field, 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 Sanderson Field. 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: | SHN / KSHN |
Airport Name: | Sanderson Field |
Location: | Shelton, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°14'0"N by 123°8'50"W |
Area Served: | Shelton, Washington |
Operator/Owner: | Port of Shelton |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 273 feet (83 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SHN |
More Information: | SHN Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
- Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
Facts about Sanderson Field (SHN):
- Sanderson Field covers an area of 1,054 acres at an elevation of 273 feet above mean sea level.
- Because of Sanderson Field's relatively low elevation of 273 feet, planes can take off or land at Sanderson Field 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.
- The furthest airport from Sanderson Field (SHN) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,810 miles (17,397 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Sanderson Field (SHN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Sanderson Field (SHN) is Olympia Regional Airport (OLM), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SSE of SHN.