Nonstop flight route between Carbondale/Murphysboro, Illinois, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MDH to FFD:
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- About this route
- MDH Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about MDH
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to MDH
- List of Nearest Airports to MDH
- Map of Furthest Airports from MDH
- List of Furthest Airports from MDH
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Southern Illinois Airport (MDH), Carbondale/Murphysboro, Illinois, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,135 miles (or 6,654 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 Southern Illinois Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Southern Illinois Airport and RAF Fairford. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MDH / KMDH |
Airport Name: | Southern Illinois Airport |
Location: | Carbondale/Murphysboro, Illinois, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°46'41"N by 89°15'6"W |
Area Served: | Carbondale / Murphysboro, Illinois |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 411 feet (125 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from MDH |
More Information: | MDH Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Southern Illinois Airport (MDH):
- The airport opened in 1950 and was originally known as Murdale Airport.
- Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) has 3 runways.
- The airport is capable of accommodating a variety of aircraft up to and including the Boeing 757.
- Because of Southern Illinois Airport's relatively low elevation of 411 feet, planes can take off or land at Southern Illinois 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 Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,052 miles (17,786 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) is Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) E of MDH.
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 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.
- 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.
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- 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.
- RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.