Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GKE to VLE:
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- About this route
- GKE Airport Information
- VLE Airport Information
- Facts about GKE
- Facts about VLE
- 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 VLE
- List of Nearest Airports to VLE
- Map of Furthest Airports from VLE
- List of Furthest Airports from VLE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Valle Airport (VLE), Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,377 miles (or 8,653 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 Valle 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 Valle 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: | VLE / |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 35°38'58"N by 112°8'30"W |
| Area Served: | Valle, Arizona |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5999 feet (1,828 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from VLE |
| More Information: | VLE Maps & Info |
Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):
- The Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
- Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
Facts about Valle Airport (VLE):
- Valle Airport (VLE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Valle Airport (VLE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,305 miles (18,194 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The closest airport to Valle Airport (VLE) is Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) N of VLE.
- In addition to being known as "Valle Airport", another name for VLE is "40G".
- Because of Valle Airport's high elevation of 5,999 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at VLE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make VLE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Valle Airport covers an area of 330 acres at an elevation of 5,999 feet above mean sea level.
