Nonstop flight route between Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands and Santa Maria, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRQ to SMX:
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- About this route
- GRQ Airport Information
- SMX Airport Information
- Facts about GRQ
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- Map of Nearest Airports to GRQ
- List of Nearest Airports to GRQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from GRQ
- List of Furthest Airports from GRQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMX
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- List of Furthest Airports from SMX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,577 miles (or 8,976 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 Groningen Airport Eelde and Santa Maria Public 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 Groningen Airport Eelde and Santa Maria Public Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRQ / EHGG |
Airport Name: | Groningen Airport Eelde |
Location: | Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands |
GPS Coordinates: | 53°7'30"N by 6°34'59"E |
Area Served: | Groningen, Netherlands |
Operator/Owner: | Groningen Airport Eelde NV |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 17 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GRQ |
More Information: | GRQ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMX / KSMX |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°53'56"N by 120°27'26"W |
Area Served: | Santa Maria, California |
Operator/Owner: | Santa Maria Public Airport District |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 261 feet (80 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMX |
More Information: | SMX Maps & Info |
Facts about Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ):
- On August 16, 1954, the Rijksluchtvaartschool – or National Aviation Academy in English – moved to the airport from Gilze-Rijen.
- Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) has 2 runways.
- Groningen Airport Eelde handled 20,866 passengers last year.
- During World War II, between 1940 and 1945, the airport was occupied by the German Military.
- The closest airport to Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Emden Airport (EME), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NE of GRQ.
- The furthest airport from Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,778 miles (18,956 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- During he 1960s, the regular scheduled services were restored.
- Because of Groningen Airport Eelde's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Groningen Airport Eelde 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.
Facts about Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):
- Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public 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.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.
- During its use by the military Santa Maria AAF also controlled Estrella Army Airfield, near Paso Robles as an auxiliary airfield to support the pilot training activity.
- Other enhancements include a new passenger terminal holding room that opened February 2008.
- A runway extension opened on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft.
- The extended primary runway at Santa Maria is paved to 8,004 feet, giving the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the central coast and Vandenberg AFB's runway are longer).