Nonstop flight route between Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Mountain View, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI), Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,471 miles (or 8,805 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 Heide-Büsum Airport and Moffett Federal Airfield, 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 Heide-Büsum Airport and Moffett Federal Airfield. 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 Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI):

• The closest airport to Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI) is Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN), which is located 28 miles (46 kilometers) SSW of HEI.
• The furthest airport from Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,683 miles (18,801 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Heide-Büsum Airport", another name for HEI is "Flugplatz Heide-Büsum".
• Because of Heide-Büsum Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Heide-Büsum Airport 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.
• Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• The naval air station was authorized by an Act of Congress, signed by President Herbert Hoover on 12 February 1931.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• Hangar One is one of the world's largest freestanding structures, covering 8 acres.
• In 2006, an offer to clean the hangar and coat its outsides with solar panels to recoup the costs of cleaning was floated by a private company, but the plan never saw fruition because it was too costly.
• The furthest airport from Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of NUQ.
• Post-Cold War defense cutbacks and related Base Realignment and Closure actions in the 1990s identified NAS Moffett Field for closure.
• After the crashing of the Macon on 12 February 1935, the Navy wanted to close Moffett Field due to its high cost of operations.
• Because of Moffett Federal Airfield's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Moffett Federal Airfield 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.