Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Santa Paula, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to SZP:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- SZP Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about SZP
- 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 SZP
- List of Nearest Airports to SZP
- Map of Furthest Airports from SZP
- List of Furthest Airports from SZP
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Santa Paula Airport (SZP), Santa Paula, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,389 miles (or 8,672 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 Santa Paula 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 Santa Paula 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: | SZP / KSZP |
Airport Name: | Santa Paula Airport |
Location: | Santa Paula, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°20'48"N by 119°3'42"W |
Area Served: | Santa Paula, California |
Operator/Owner: | Santa Paula Airport Association |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 243 feet (74 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SZP |
More Information: | SZP Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
- 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
Facts about Santa Paula Airport (SZP):
- The furthest airport from Santa Paula Airport (SZP) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,476 miles (18,469 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Santa Paula's first airport was originally established in 1927 when local rancher, Ralph Dickenson, purchased an OX-5 powered International biplane, cut a dirt airstrip on his ranch and built a hangar.
- Santa Paula Airport is a privately owned, public use airport located one nautical mile southeast of the central business district of Santa Paula, a city in Ventura County, California, United States.
- The former Logsdon's Restaurant closed in early 2013, no operator has resumed food service yet.
- The closest airport to Santa Paula Airport (SZP) is Oxnard Airport (OXR), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SW of SZP.
- A view from the hangars on the Northwest side of the airport.
- Because of Santa Paula Airport's relatively low elevation of 243 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Paula 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.
- Santa Paula Airport (SZP) currently has only 1 runway.