Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FBK to GKE:
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- About this route
- FBK Airport Information
- GKE Airport Information
- Facts about FBK
- Facts about GKE
- Map of Nearest Airports to FBK
- List of Nearest Airports to FBK
- Map of Furthest Airports from FBK
- List of Furthest Airports from FBK
- Map of Nearest Airports to GKE
- List of Nearest Airports to GKE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GKE
- List of Furthest Airports from GKE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,313 miles (or 6,941 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 Ladd Army Airfield 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 Ladd Army Airfield 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FBK / PAFB |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 64°50'15"N by 147°36'51"W |
Area Served: | Fort Wainwright |
Operator/Owner: | United States Army |
Airport Type: | Military: Army Airfield |
Elevation: | 454 feet (138 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FBK |
More Information: | FBK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GKE / ETNG |
Airport Name: | NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component |
Location: | Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
GPS Coordinates: | 50°57'38"N by 6°2'33"E |
Operator/Owner: | NATO |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 296 feet (90 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GKE |
More Information: | GKE Maps & Info |
Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):
- When the Air Force was made a separate branch in 1947 the name was changed to Ladd Air Force Base.
- In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
- Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Ladd AFB served as the northern hub for Air Force activities in Alaska.
- Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army 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.
- Testing at Ladd Field began again in 1942, but by 1943 aircraft cold-weather testing had become a second priority, as Ladd became the hub for fighters and bombers destined for the "Forgotten 1,000 Mile War" in the Aleutians against the Japanese or on their way to Soviet forces as part of the Lend-Lease program.
- The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):
- 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.
- Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
- 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.
- NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The E-3A Component is NATO's first operational flying unit with multinational manning.
- 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.
- Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
- 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.