Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Warton, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Warton Aerodrome (WRT), Warton, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 423 miles (or 680 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 relatively short distance between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Warton Aerodrome, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):

• 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).
• 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 Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.
• 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.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen is located in the Federal Republic of Germany, near the village of Teveren and six kilometers west of the town of Geilenkirchen.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E­3A aircraft.
• 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.
• 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 Warton Aerodrome (WRT):

• In 1947, English Electric took over the site, moving its main design office there from the Strand Road site in Preston in 1948.
• The airfield was first operated as an air depot of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, as thousands of aircraft were processed on their way to active service in Britain, North Africa, the Mediterranean and mainland Europe.
• Warton Aerodrome (WRT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Warton Aerodrome (WRT) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,820 miles (19,022 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The final new build Tornado left Warton in 1998, a GR.1 for Saudi Arabia.
• Because of Warton Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 55 feet, planes can take off or land at Warton Aerodrome 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.
• With the merger of English Electric Aviation and the other aircraft divisions of the major British manufacturers in 1960, it became a British Aircraft Corporation site.
• The closest airport to Warton Aerodrome (WRT) is Blackpool International Airport (BLK), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WNW of WRT.