Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Mackinac Island, Michigan, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to MCD:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- MCD Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about MCD
- 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 MCD
- List of Nearest Airports to MCD
- Map of Furthest Airports from MCD
- List of Furthest Airports from MCD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Mackinac Island Airport (MCD), Mackinac Island, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,587 miles (or 5,772 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 Mackinac 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 Mackinac 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: | MCD / KMCD |
Airport Name: | Mackinac Island Airport |
Location: | Mackinac Island, Michigan, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 45°51'54"N by 84°38'13"W |
Area Served: | Mackinac Island, Michigan |
Operator/Owner: | Mackinac Island State Park Commission |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 739 feet (225 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MCD |
More Information: | MCD Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- 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.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
- RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
- Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
Facts about Mackinac Island Airport (MCD):
- The furthest airport from Mackinac Island Airport (MCD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,111 miles (17,881 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Mackinac Island Airport (MCD) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Mackinac Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 739 feet, planes can take off or land at Mackinac 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 closest airport to Mackinac Island Airport (MCD) is Pellston Regional Airport of Emmet County (PLN), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SSW of MCD.