Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Breda, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ), Breda, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,518 miles (or 7,271 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 Elmendorf Air Force Base and Gilze-Rijen 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 Elmendorf Air Force Base and Gilze-Rijen 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 Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• On 16 November 2010, a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor took off for a training mission.
• Construction on Elmendorf Field began on 8 June 1940, as a major and permanent military airfield near Anchorage.
• The Elmendorf AFB is a site of one of the now decommissioned FLR-9 Wullenweber-class antennas, a node of the now obsolete High Frequency SIGINT direction finding system.
• The furthest airport from Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,542 miles (16,965 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.

Facts about Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ):

• In 2009, helicopter operations from Soesterberg Air Base were moved to Gilze-Rijen Air Base, which resulted in CH-47 Chinook and AS 532 Cougar helicopters being based at the airfield as well as the Alouette III for VIP transport, making Gilze-Rijen the main operating base for military helicopters in the Netherlands.
• Because of Gilze-Rijen Air Base's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Gilze-Rijen Air Base 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 1940, the airfield came under heavy attack from the German Luftwaffe, who later took control of the base and expanded it for their own use.
• In addition to being known as "Gilze-Rijen Air Base", another name for GLZ is "(Advanced Landing Ground B-77)".
• The furthest airport from Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,897 miles (19,146 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Gilze-Rijen Air Base is one of the oldest airfields in the Netherlands, the first aircraft to have landed there being a Blériot in 1910.
• Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) is Eindhoven Airport (EIN), which is located 21 miles (33 kilometers) ESE of GLZ.