Nonstop flight route between Bluefield, West Virginia, United States and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BLF to GKE:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- BLF Airport Information
- GKE Airport Information
- Facts about BLF
- Facts about GKE
- Map of Nearest Airports to BLF
- List of Nearest Airports to BLF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BLF
- List of Furthest Airports from BLF
- Map of Nearest Airports to GKE
- List of Nearest Airports to GKE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GKE
- List of Furthest Airports from GKE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Mercer County Airport (BLF), Bluefield, West Virginia, United States and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,170 miles (or 6,711 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 Mercer County Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component, 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 Mercer County Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BLF / KBLF |
Airport Name: | Mercer County Airport |
Location: | Bluefield, West Virginia, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°17'44"N by 81°12'28"W |
Area Served: | Bluefield / Princeton, West Virginia |
Operator/Owner: | Mercer County Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2857 feet (871 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BLF |
More Information: | BLF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GKE / ETNG |
Airport Name: | NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component |
Location: | Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°57'38"N by 6°2'33"E |
Operator/Owner: | NATO |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 296 feet (90 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GKE |
More Information: | GKE Maps & Info |
Facts about Mercer County Airport (BLF):
- The closest airport to Mercer County Airport (BLF) is New River Valley Airport (PSK), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) ESE of BLF.
- The furthest airport from Mercer County Airport (BLF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,493 miles (18,496 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Mercer County Airport (BLF) currently has only 1 runway.
- Mercer County Airport covers an area of 144 acres at an elevation of 2,857 feet above mean sea level.
Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):
- Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
- The E-3A Component directly employs more than 3,000 personnel at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen and therefore has a significant economic impact in the surrounding communities.
- NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
- E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E3A aircraft.
- The E-3A Component is NATO's first operational flying unit with multinational manning.
- The closest airport to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Merzbrück Airfield (AAH), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSE of GKE.
- The furthest airport from NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,929 miles (19,198 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Because of NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component's relatively low elevation of 296 feet, planes can take off or land at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component 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.
- An Economic Impact Study compiled by the NATO E-3A Component shows a 2008 economic impact of 275.8 million euro within a 200-kilometer radius of the base.