Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Yakima, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Yakima Air Terminal (YKM), Yakima, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,987 miles (or 8,027 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 Yakima Air Terminal, 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 Yakima Air Terminal. 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):

• Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
• 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.
• 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.
• E-3A Component flying operations began in February 1982 after delivery of the first E­3A aircraft.
• The E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• 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 Yakima Air Terminal (YKM):

• The closest airport to Yakima Air Terminal (YKM) is Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft) (FCT), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNE of YKM.
• Yakima Air Terminal covers 825 acres at an elevation of 1,099 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Yakima Air Terminal", another name for YKM is "McAllister Field".
• Yakima Air Terminal (YKM) has 2 runways.
• The 2013 Federal sequester will result in the closure of the airport's contract control tower and will require pilots to rely on air traffic controllers from other area airports.
• The furthest airport from Yakima Air Terminal (YKM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,797 miles (17,377 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Yakima Air Terminal is a public airport three miles south of Yakima, in Yakima County, Washington.