Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Mário Pereira Lopes State Airport (QSC), São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,002 miles (or 9,660 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 Mário Pereira Lopes State 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 Mário Pereira Lopes State Airport. 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):

• In January 1980 the first E-3A Component personnel started arriving at the base, and in October 1980 the NATO Defence Planning Committee granted the E-3A Component the status of a NATO International Military Headquarters.
• 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.
• Since that time, most of the buildings on base have been renovated to present day standards and several new buildings have been erected.
• Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The Component operates seventeen Boeing E-3A AWACS aircraft all of which are based on the Boeing 707 airframe Trainer Cargo Aircraft but which have since been retired).
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located near Geilenkirchen, Germany.

Facts about Mário Pereira Lopes State Airport (QSC):

• The airport was built in the 1970s as a private aerodrome of a Brazilian tractor manufacturer.
• Mário Pereira Lopes State Airport is the airport serving São Carlos, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Mário Pereira Lopes State Airport", another name for QSC is "Aeroporto Estadual Mário Pereira Lopes".
• Also in 2001, TAM Airlines acquired the old tractor plant and after a complete renovation installed one of its maintenance centers on the site.
• The furthest airport from Mário Pereira Lopes State Airport (QSC) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to Mário Pereira Lopes State Airport (meaning Mário Pereira Lopes State Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,157 miles (19,566 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
• In 2002, with the closure of the former São Carlos Airport, which was closer to town, the resident São Carlos Aero Club was transferred to Mário Pereira Lopes Airport.
• Mário Pereira Lopes State Airport handled 1,280 passengers last year.
• Mário Pereira Lopes State Airport (QSC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mário Pereira Lopes State Airport (QSC) is Bartolomeu de Gusmão State Airport (AQA), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) WNW of QSC.