Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from AYH to RCB:
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- About this route
- AYH Airport Information
- RCB Airport Information
- Facts about AYH
- Facts about RCB
- Map of Nearest Airports to AYH
- List of Nearest Airports to AYH
- Map of Furthest Airports from AYH
- List of Furthest Airports from AYH
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCB
- List of Nearest Airports to RCB
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCB
- List of Furthest Airports from RCB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Richards Bay Airport (RCB), Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,934 miles (or 9,550 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 AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 and Richards Bay 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 AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 and Richards Bay Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | AYH / EGWZ |
Airport Name: | RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 |
Location: | Alconbury, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°21'47"N by 0°13'22"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from AYH |
More Information: | AYH Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCB / FARB |
Airport Name: | Richards Bay Airport |
Location: | Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°44'26"S by 32°5'30"E |
Operator/Owner: | uMhlathuze Local Municipality |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 109 feet (33 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RCB |
More Information: | RCB Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH):
- The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
- RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth are the last Second World War-era Eighth Air Force bases in Britain that are still actively in use and controlled by the United States Air Force.
- In May 1942, RAF Alconbury was allocated to the United States Eighth Air Force when a number of stations in East Anglia were turned over to the Americans after their entry into the war.
- The furthest airport from RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Satellite bases were considered one answer to this threat – a landing ground within reasonable road travel distance of the parent airfield to which aircraft could be diverted if the home station was bombed or likely to be attacked.
- In late 1940/41, an expansion of RAF Alconbury commenced to upgrade its facilities from a satellite airfield to a fully operational one.
Facts about Richards Bay Airport (RCB):
- Richards Bay Airport (RCB) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- The closest airport to Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hluhluwe Airport (HLW), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) NNE of RCB.
- Because of Richards Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 109 feet, planes can take off or land at Richards Bay 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.