Nonstop flight route between Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia and Spangdahlem, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bankstown Airport (BWU), Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia and Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), Spangdahlem, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,322 miles (or 16,612 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 Bankstown Airport and Spangdahlem Air 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 Bankstown Airport and Spangdahlem Air 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 Bankstown Airport (BWU):

• Because of Bankstown Airport's relatively low elevation of 34 feet, planes can take off or land at Bankstown 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.
• Bankstown Airport was originally planned in 1929.
• De Havilland Australia has been affiliated with the airport opening a factory at the airfield in 1942, occupying the area to the south of the runway.
• Bankstown Airport is owned by the Federal Government and leased by Bankstown Airport Limited, a subsidiary of BAC Airports Pty Limited, whose ultimate shareholders include JF Infrastructure, Colonial First State and Australian Super.
• The closest airport to Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of BWU.
• Runway 11C has a straight-in RNAV approach procedure.
• In addition to being known as "Bankstown Airport", another name for BWU is "Sydney/Bankstown Airport".
• During the war, several "dummy houses" were built to make Bankstown Airport and its surrounds appear as a farm, hangars were disguised as houses with fake roads to further confuse the enemy.
• The furthest airport from Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Bankstown Airport (meaning Bankstown Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• Bankstown Airport (BWU) has 3 runways.

Facts about Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM):

• In addition to being known as "Spangdahlem Air Base", another name for SPM is "Spangdahlem AB".
• The closest airport to Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Bitburg Airport (BBJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of SPM.
• The furthest airport from Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,986 miles (19,289 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The 52 TFW gained its third fighter squadron with the activation of the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 15 November 1976.
• The 49th TFW flew F-100s until 1961 when it converted to the Republic F-105D/F Thunderchief, commonly known as the "Thud".
• In November 2005, the first C-17 Globemaster III aircraft arrived at Spangdahlem.
• The wing supports the Supreme Allied Commander Europe with mission-ready personnel and systems providing expeditionary air power.