Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and North Whale Pass, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to WWP:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- WWP Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about WWP
- 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 WWP
- List of Nearest Airports to WWP
- Map of Furthest Airports from WWP
- List of Furthest Airports from WWP
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and North Whale Seaplane Base (WWP), North Whale Pass, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,489 miles (or 7,225 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 North Whale Seaplane Base, 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 North Whale Seaplane Base. 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: | WWP / |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | North Whale Pass, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 56°6'59"N by 133°7'18"W |
Area Served: | North Whale Pass, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF - Southeast Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from WWP |
More Information: | WWP Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- 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.
- 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.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
Facts about North Whale Seaplane Base (WWP):
- Because of North Whale Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at North Whale Seaplane Base 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.
- In addition to being known as "North Whale Seaplane Base", another name for WWP is "96Z".
- The furthest airport from North Whale Seaplane Base (WWP) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,610 miles (17,076 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
- North Whale Seaplane Base (WWP) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to North Whale Seaplane Base (WWP) is Coffman Cove Seaplane Base (KCC), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ESE of WWP.