Nonstop flight route between Camp Pohakuloa, Hawaii, United States and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), Camp Pohakuloa, Hawaii, United States and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,421 miles (or 11,943 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 Pōhakuloa Training Area 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 Pōhakuloa Training Area 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF):

• The only road access is via the narrow Saddle Road, which is paralleled by a tank trail.
• The closest airport to Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF) is Waimea-Kohala Airport (MUE), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of BSF.
• The furthest airport from Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Pōhakuloa Training Area (meaning Pōhakuloa Training Area is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,925 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• Several archaeological sites have been found in the training area, including the Bobcat Trail Habitation Cave, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
• The airstrip was constructed at the area in 1956.

Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):

• 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 is located in the Federal Republic of Germany, near the village of Teveren and six kilometers west of the town of Geilenkirchen.
• In January 1980 the first E-3A Component personnel started arriving at the base, and in October 1980 the NATO Defence Planning Committee granted the E-3A Component the status of a NATO International Military Headquarters.
• 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.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.