Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Yam Island, Queensland, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to XMY:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- XMY Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about XMY
- 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 XMY
- List of Nearest Airports to XMY
- Map of Furthest Airports from XMY
- List of Furthest Airports from XMY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Yam Island Airport (XMY), Yam Island, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,929 miles (or 14,369 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 Yam Island 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 Yam Island 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: | XMY / YYMI |
Airport Name: | Yam Island Airport |
Location: | Yam Island, Queensland, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 9°53'8"S by 142°46'18"E |
Operator/Owner: | Torres Strait Island Regional Council |
Airport Type: | Private |
Elevation: | 15 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from XMY |
More Information: | XMY 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.
- 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 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 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.
- 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.
Facts about Yam Island Airport (XMY):
- The closest airport to Yam Island Airport (XMY) is Coconut Island (CNC), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) ESE of XMY.
- Yam Island Airport (XMY) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Yam Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Yam Island 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.
- The furthest airport from Yam Island Airport (XMY) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,510 miles (18,524 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.