Nonstop flight route between Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands and Oak Harbor, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), Groningen / Eelde, Netherlands and NAS Whidbey Island (NUW), Oak Harbor, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,822 miles (or 7,760 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 Groningen Airport Eelde and NAS Whidbey Island, 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 Groningen Airport Eelde and NAS Whidbey Island. 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 Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ):

• Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) has 2 runways.
• Groningen Airport Eelde is a civilian airport near Eelde, in the northeastern Netherlands.
• On August 16, 1954, the Rijksluchtvaartschool – or National Aviation Academy in English – moved to the airport from Gilze-Rijen.
• Because of Groningen Airport Eelde's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Groningen Airport Eelde 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.
• Early 1945, the Germans abandoned their "Fliegerhorst", as they called it.
• On July 13, 1928 the community's council agrees on a proposal to allocate 'Hakenkampsveld', a 12 hectare terrain within the municipality of Eelde, as an airport.
• The furthest airport from Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,778 miles (18,956 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Groningen Airport Eelde handled 20,866 passengers last year.
• In 1977, a new passenger terminal opened and more parking space for cars was constructed.
• The closest airport to Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) is Emden Airport (EME), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NE of GRQ.

Facts about NAS Whidbey Island (NUW):

• On December 8, three workers started a topographic survey of what would become Ault Field, about four miles to the north.
• On January 17, 1941, almost 11 months before the U.S.
• The closest airport to NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is A.J. Eisenberg Airport (ODW), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of NUW.
• The furthest airport from NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,730 miles (17,268 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Whidbey Island", another name for NUW is "Ault Field".
• Because of NAS Whidbey Island's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Whidbey Island 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.
• In early 1965, patrol squadrons began to leave NAS Whidbey.
• NAS Whidbey Island (NUW) has 2 runways.
• On September 21, 1942, the air station's first Commanding Officer, CAPT Cyril Thomas Simard, read the orders and the watch was set.