Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GKE to RAP:
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- About this route
- GKE Airport Information
- RAP Airport Information
- Facts about GKE
- Facts about RAP
- 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 RAP
- List of Nearest Airports to RAP
- Map of Furthest Airports from RAP
- List of Furthest Airports from RAP
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,624 miles (or 7,442 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 Rapid City Regional 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 Rapid City Regional 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: | RAP / KRAP |
Airport Name: | Rapid City Regional Airport |
Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°2'43"N by 103°3'25"W |
Area Served: | Rapid City, South Dakota |
Operator/Owner: | City of Rapid City |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 3204 feet (977 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from RAP |
More Information: | RAP Maps & Info |
Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):
- NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located near Geilenkirchen, Germany.
- The E-3A Component is NATO's first operational flying unit with multinational manning.
- The Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
- An Economic Impact Study compiled by the NATO E-3A Component shows a 2008 economic impact of 275.8 million euro within a 200-kilometer radius of the base.
- 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.
- 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 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.
Facts about Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP):
- Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,585 miles (17,035 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The terminal building opened in 1988.
- The closest airport to Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP) is Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) N of RAP.