Nonstop flight route between Gladwin, Michigan, United States and Spangdahlem, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW), Gladwin, Michigan, United States and Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), Spangdahlem, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,043 miles (or 6,507 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 Gladwin Zettel Memorial 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 Gladwin Zettel Memorial 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 Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW):

• Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile southeast of the central business district of Gladwin, a city in Gladwin County, Michigan, United States.
• The closest airport to Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW) is Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport (MOP), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of GDW.
• Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport (GDW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,182 miles (17,995 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport is staffed from 9AM until 5PM.
• Because of Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 774 feet, planes can take off or land at Gladwin Zettel Memorial 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.

Facts about Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM):

• In addition to being known as "Spangdahlem Air Base", another name for SPM is "Spangdahlem AB".
• On 10 May 1953 the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was reassigned to Spangdahlem AB from Toul-Rosieres Air Base, France.
• 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 Air Mobility Command 726th Air Mobility Squadron at Spangdahlem supports cargo and passenger traffic as part of its airlift mission, providing command and control, maintenance and aerial port capability to all AMC aircraft transiting their ramp.
• With the departure of the 49 TFW, the 7149th Air Base Group was activated to serve as a caretaker unit for a number of support organizations that remained behind after the departure of the 49 TFW.
• On 1 January 1969, the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, located at nearby Bitburg Air Base, assumed operational control of Spangdahlem, becoming a dual-based wing.
• The 49 TFW remained at Spangdahlem AB until 1 July 1968 when it relocated to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, to serve as the US Air Force’s first dual-based, NATO-committed wing.
• The closest airport to Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Bitburg Airport (BBJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of SPM.
• In November 2005, the first C-17 Globemaster III aircraft arrived at Spangdahlem.