Nonstop flight route between Smyrna, Tennessee, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MQY to FFD:
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- About this route
- MQY Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about MQY
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to MQY
- List of Nearest Airports to MQY
- Map of Furthest Airports from MQY
- List of Furthest Airports from MQY
- 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 Smyrna Airport (MQY), Smyrna, Tennessee, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,112 miles (or 6,618 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 Smyrna 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 Smyrna 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: | MQY / KMQY |
Airport Name: | Smyrna Airport |
Location: | Smyrna, Tennessee, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°0'32"N by 86°31'11"W |
Area Served: | Smyrna, Tennessee |
Operator/Owner: | Smyrna / Rutherford County Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 543 feet (166 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MQY |
More Information: | MQY 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 Smyrna Airport (MQY):
- The closest airport to Smyrna Airport (MQY) is Nashville International Airport (BNA), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) NW of MQY.
- The furthest airport from Smyrna Airport (MQY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,207 miles (18,036 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Smyrna Airport covers an area of 1,700 acres at an elevation of 543 feet above mean sea level.
- The airport has an operational control tower twelve hours a day, precision instrument landing system approaches to Runway 14 and Runway 32, and DoD Into-Plane Contract jet fuel for military and other US Government aircraft provided by the on-site civilian fixed base operator, Smyrna Air Center.
- Because of Smyrna Airport's relatively low elevation of 543 feet, planes can take off or land at Smyrna 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.
- Smyrna Airport (MQY) has 2 runways.
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.