Nonstop flight route between Aachen, Germany and Riverside, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Merzbrück Airfield (AAH), Aachen, Germany and March Air Reserve Base (RIV), Riverside, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,650 miles (or 9,093 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 Merzbrück Airfield and March Air Reserve Base, 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 Merzbrück Airfield and March Air Reserve Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Merzbrück Airfield (AAH):

• There is no scheduled traffic at the airfield.
• Because of Merzbrück Airfield's relatively low elevation of 623 feet, planes can take off or land at Merzbrück Airfield 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 furthest airport from Merzbrück Airfield (AAH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,937 miles (19,210 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Merzbrück Airfield", another name for AAH is "Flugplatz Merzbrück".
• The airport was built about 1932 as a grass airfield, and throughout the 1930s was used by small light aircraft.
• The closest airport to Merzbrück Airfield (AAH) is NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NNW of AAH.
• Merzbrück Airfield (AAH) currently has only 1 runway.
• After the war, the airport was used by the British Forces Germany and later by the Belgian Forces in Germany.

Facts about March Air Reserve Base (RIV):

• Few members of the 1st Fighter Group foresaw subsequent difficulties in the summer of 1946 as they trained with their new jet fighters.
• The furthest airport from March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,461 miles (18,445 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of RIV.
• In December 1948, Twelfth Air Force and March AFB were assigned from Tactical Air Command to Continental Air Command, established on 1 December 1948.
• However, by 1921, the decision had been made to phase down all activities at the base in accordance with sharply reduced military budgets.
• At the same time, the War Department announced its intentions to build several new military installations.