Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GKE to PPQ:
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- About this route
- GKE Airport Information
- PPQ Airport Information
- Facts about GKE
- Facts about PPQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to GKE
- List of Nearest Airports to GKE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GKE
- List of Furthest Airports from GKE
- Map of Nearest Airports to PPQ
- List of Nearest Airports to PPQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from PPQ
- List of Furthest Airports from PPQ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,564 miles (or 18,611 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 Kapiti Coast Airport, 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 Kapiti Coast Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PPQ / NZPP |
Airport Name: | Kapiti Coast Airport |
Location: | Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°54'16"S by 174°59'21"E |
Airport Type: | Attended, Uncontrolled, Certificated Aerodrome |
Elevation: | 22 feet (7 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from PPQ |
More Information: | PPQ Maps & Info |
Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):
- Following NATO’s decision to establish the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force program and to make the base near Teveren the Main Operating Base of the E3A Component, a major construction program was started in 1980 to modify the operational and support facilities.
- 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.
- The E-3A Component is NATO's first operational flying unit with multinational manning.
- 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.
- 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.
- NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
- Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):
- On 6 November 1970, Douglas C-47B ZK-AXS of the Ministry of Transport was damaged beyond economic repair during a downwind simulated takeoff, when the undercarriage collapsed.
- In early 2007, the airport was sold by its first private owners to property developer Noel Robinson for NZ$40 million.
- The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
- Originally government-owned, the Kapiti Coast Airport was the greater Wellington region's main airport until Wellington International Airport re-opened in 1959.
- Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
- Paraparaumu was judged unsuitable for international operations in the 1950s due to Kapiti Island to the near west and the Tararua Ranges barely a mile east infringing the take-off and landing flightpaths.
- Because of Kapiti Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapiti Coast 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.
- The furthest airport from Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Kapiti Coast Airport (meaning Kapiti Coast Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.