Nonstop flight route between Long Beach, California, United States and Spangdahlem, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Long Beach Airport (LGB), Long Beach, California, United States and Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), Spangdahlem, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,739 miles (or 9,235 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 Long Beach Airport and Spangdahlem Air 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 Long Beach Airport and Spangdahlem Air 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 Long Beach Airport (LGB):

• The first transcontinental flight, a biplane flown by Calbraith Perry Rodgers, landed in 1911 on Long Beach's sandy beach.
• Long Beach Airport (LGB) has 5 runways.
• Air cargo carriers, including FedEx and UPS, also use LGB.
• Commercial flights are restricted, but there are still many charters, private aviation, flight schools, law enforcement flights, helicopters, advertising blimps, planes towing advertising banners, etc.
• Long Beach Airport handled 2,978,433 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Long Beach Airport (LGB) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,489 miles (18,489 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Long Beach Airport (LGB) is Long Beach Airport (JLB), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of LGB.
• Because of Long Beach Airport's relatively low elevation of 60 feet, planes can take off or land at Long Beach 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.
• To attract the United States Navy, the City of Long Beach built a hangar and an administrative building and then offered to lease it to the Navy for $1 a year for the establishment of the Naval Reserve Air Base.
• The arrival of low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways at Long Beach Airport in 2001, and that airline's decision to establish a West Coast hub at LGB, has increased air traffic and has cemented LGB's standing as an alternative to LAX for flights to the East Coast.
• The Navy there upon, fed up with the city of Long Beach, decided upon the purchase of some property owned by a Mrs.

Facts about Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM):

• The 49th TFW flew F-100s until 1961 when it converted to the Republic F-105D/F Thunderchief, commonly known as the "Thud".
• With the departure of the 49 TFW, the 7149th Air Base Group was activated to serve as a caretaker unit for a number of support organizations that remained behind after the departure of the 49 TFW.
• The furthest airport from Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,986 miles (19,289 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Bitburg Airport (BBJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of SPM.
• In addition to being known as "Spangdahlem Air Base", another name for SPM is "Spangdahlem AB".
• Upon its arrival at Spangdahlem AB, the 10 TRW operated Lockheed RF-80A Shooting Star for daylight aerial recon and the Douglas RB-26C Invader for night recon missions.
• In late 1990, the 81st TFS reorganized to exclusively fly the F-4G, then deployed 24 aircraft to Sheikh Isa Air Base, Bahrain for Operation Desert Storm combat operations.