Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Eastover, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and McEntire Joint National Guard Base Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield CongareeCongaree Army Airfield (MMT), Eastover, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,316 miles (or 6,946 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and McEntire Joint National Guard Base Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield CongareeCongaree Army Airfield, 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and McEntire Joint National Guard Base Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield CongareeCongaree Army Airfield. 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 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about McEntire Joint National Guard Base Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield CongareeCongaree Army Airfield (MMT):

• The mission of the 169th Fighter Wing is to maintain wartime readiness and the ability to mobilize and deploy expeditiously to carry out tactical air missions or combat support activities in the event of a war or military emergency.
• The furthest airport from McEntire Joint National Guard Base Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield CongareeCongaree Army Airfield (MMT) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,526 miles (18,549 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The host wing for the installation is the 169th Fighter Wing, which, as an Air National Guard organization, is operationally gained by the Air Combat Command
• The closest airport to McEntire Joint National Guard Base Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield CongareeCongaree Army Airfield (MMT) is Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport (CUB), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) WNW of MMT.
• The 169 FW flies the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a single-seat multi-purpose fighter with the capability to fly at up to twice the speed of sound.
• McEntire Joint National Guard Base or McEntire JNGB is a military airport located in Richland County, South Carolina, United States, 10 miles west of the town of Eastover and approximately 15 miles southeast of the city of Columbia.
• In September 1945, after World War II, the only remaining Marine units were VMF-523 and Air Warning Squadron 14.
• In addition to being known as "McEntire Joint National Guard Base Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield CongareeCongaree Army Airfield", another name for MMT is "McEntire ANGB".
• The base was eventually turned over to the South Carolina Air National Guard and renamed McEntire ANG Base in October 1961 by Governor Ernest F.