Nonstop flight route between Minden, Nevada, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MEV to LKZ:
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- About this route
- MEV Airport Information
- LKZ Airport Information
- Facts about MEV
- Facts about LKZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to MEV
- List of Nearest Airports to MEV
- Map of Furthest Airports from MEV
- List of Furthest Airports from MEV
- Map of Nearest Airports to LKZ
- List of Nearest Airports to LKZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from LKZ
- List of Furthest Airports from LKZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), Minden, Nevada, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,180 miles (or 8,336 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 Minden-Tahoe Airport and RAF Lakenheath, 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 Minden-Tahoe Airport and RAF Lakenheath. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MEV / KMEV |
Airport Name: | Minden-Tahoe Airport |
Location: | Minden, Nevada, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°0'2"N by 119°45'6"W |
Area Served: | Minden, Nevada |
Operator/Owner: | Douglas County |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4722 feet (1,439 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from MEV |
More Information: | MEV Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LKZ / EGUL |
Airport Name: | RAF Lakenheath |
Location: | Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°24'29"N by 0°33'24"E |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from LKZ |
More Information: | LKZ Maps & Info |
Facts about Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV):
- The closest airport to Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV) is Carson Airport (CSN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) N of MEV.
- Because of Minden-Tahoe Airport's high elevation of 4,722 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MEV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MEV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- During the winter months, the famous Sierra mountain wave can carry gliders well over 25,000 ft, with the Minden record well over 40,000 ft.
- The furthest airport from Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,200 miles (18,025 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Gliders are usually towed to altitudes of 1,000 to 2,000 ft over the airport, and they are often able to make out and return flights to the White Mountains, Owens Valley, and Eastern Nevada, often covering distances of over 500 mi.
- Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV) has 3 runways.
Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):
- On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE.
- The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.
- Control of RAF Lakenheath was allocated to Third Air Force at South Ruislip Air Station, which had command of SAC B-29 operations in England.
- In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, 40 Horsa Gliders being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.
- The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
- The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.