Nonstop flight route between Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena and RAF Gütersloh (GUT), Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,352 miles (or 7,003 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 Ascension and RAF Gütersloh, 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 Ascension and RAF Gütersloh. 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 RAF Ascension (ASI):

• RAF Ascension Island is also the refuelling point for the Ministry of Defence's South Atlantic Air Bridge flights to RAF Mount Pleasant, on the Falkland Islands, from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, in the UK.
• The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
• The Target Tracking Radar Station was a Nike Zeus test facility for tracking reentry vehicles from Cape Canaveral missile launches.
• Ascension serves as a diversion airport for ETOPS aircraft crossing the Atlantic.
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• The RAF presence on Ascension is backed up by United States Air Force personnel, who contribute a similar number of service personnel to ensure the effective running of the station, under the command of Captain Eduard Rodriguez, who is responsible to the RAF Station Commander.

Facts about RAF Gütersloh (GUT):

• RAF Gütersloh (GUT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from RAF Gütersloh (GUT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,835 miles (19,046 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The station was captured by the Americans in April 1945 and designated as "Advanced Landing Ground Y-99".
• The closest airport to RAF Gütersloh (GUT) is Paderborn Lippstadt Airport (PAD), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) SSE of GUT.
• The RAF established Headquarters No.
• Following the withdrawal by the Royal Air Force in 1993, the base became a British Army Garrison, called the Princess Royal Barracks, Gütersloh, a base for British Army helicopters, and Royal Logistic Corps Regiments.
• Because of RAF Gütersloh's relatively low elevation of 236 feet, planes can take off or land at RAF Gütersloh 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.