Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Tonopah, Nevada, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GKE to XSD:
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- About this route
- GKE Airport Information
- XSD Airport Information
- Facts about GKE
- Facts about XSD
- Map of Nearest Airports to GKE
- List of Nearest Airports to GKE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GKE
- List of Furthest Airports from GKE
- Map of Nearest Airports to XSD
- List of Nearest Airports to XSD
- Map of Furthest Airports from XSD
- List of Furthest Airports from XSD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), Tonopah, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,396 miles (or 8,684 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Tonopah Test Range 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Tonopah Test Range Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | XSD / KTNX |
Airport Name: | Tonopah Test Range Airport |
Location: | Tonopah, Nevada, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°47'40"N by 116°46'42"W |
View all routes: | Routes from XSD |
More Information: | XSD Maps & Info |
Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):
- Since coming into service in the early 1980s, the aircraft and their onboard systems and associated ground-based equipment have undergone regular upgrading.
- 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.
- Surrounded by farmland and a natural woodland reserve, the base was originally built by the Royal Air Force after World War II and operated as RAF Geilenkirchen from 1953 onwards.
- 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.
- Major construction on the base initially included a new 3,000-metre runway with a width of 45 metres, as well as aprons and taxiways, a control tower, an Information Technology Wing building, on-base accommodation and major renovation of the four existing hangars.
- 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.
- NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
Facts about Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD):
- On 12 August 1968, the IDF obtained two Syrian Air Force MiG-17F fighters that had gotten lost during a training flight and landed inadvertently at Besert Landing Field, Israel.
- Pakistan was the first and largest customer of the J-6 receiving nearly 300 aircraft, mostly of the J-6C variety.
- None of the Soviet-designed aircraft at Tonopah flew in bad weather or at night.
- In 2006, the Constant Peg program was declassified and the USAF held a series of press conferences about the former top secret US MiGs.
- The closest airport to Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Tonopah Airport (TPH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NW of XSD.
- The furthest airport from Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,207 miles (18,036 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- In 2003, after the seizure of the Iraqi Air Force Al-Taqaddum Air Base, an advanced Russian MiG-25 Foxbat was found buried in the sand after an informant tipped off U.S.