Nonstop flight route between Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Abilene, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL), Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), Abilene, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,146 miles (or 8,281 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 Kiel Holtenau Airport and Dyess Air Force Base, 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 Kiel Holtenau Airport and Dyess Air Force Base. 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 Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL):

• Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kiel Holtenau Airport's relatively low elevation of 101 feet, planes can take off or land at Kiel Holtenau 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.
• Further, German Air Force aircraft operating as fake targets for practice depart from Kiel Airport.
• The furthest airport from Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,649 miles (18,747 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1987, the terminal that is still used today was built.
• In addition to being known as "Kiel Holtenau Airport", another name for KEL is "Flughafen Kiel-Holtenau".
• Kiel Airport is a regional airport in Kiel, Germany.
• The closest airport to Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) is Sønderborg Airport (SGD), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) NNW of KEL.
• However, use of the airport declined in the following years as more and more scheduled flight routes were discontinued.

Facts about Dyess Air Force Base (DYS):

• The furthest airport from Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,080 miles (17,831 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Units stationed at Dyess Air Force Base while the 5/517th was operational included SAC's 819th Strategic Aerospace Division, the 96th BW, and the 578th Strategic Missile Squadron.
• Dyess AFB was established in 1942 as Abilene Army Air Base.
• Dyess' first active combat unit was the 341st Bombardment Wing, which activated on 1 September 1955.
• The closest airport to Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Abilene Regional Airport (ABI), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DYS.
• In addition to being known as "Dyess Air Force Base", another name for DYS is "Dyess AFB".
• The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force.
• Dyess AFB is also home to several tenant units, including Air Force Office of Special Investigations Detachment 222.