Nonstop flight route between Ely, Minnesota, United States and Spangdahlem, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ely Municipal Airport (LYU), Ely, Minnesota, United States and Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), Spangdahlem, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,130 miles (or 6,646 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 Ely Municipal 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 Ely Municipal 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 Ely Municipal Airport (LYU):

• In addition to being known as "Ely Municipal Airport", another name for LYU is "ELO".
• The closest airport to Ely Municipal Airport (LYU) is Range Regional Airport (HIB), which is located 56 miles (90 kilometers) WSW of LYU.
• Ely Municipal Airport (LYU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ely Municipal Airport (LYU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,748 miles (17,296 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport covers 560 acres.
• Ely Municipal Airport is in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, four miles south of Ely, which owns it.

Facts about Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM):

• Spangdahlem Air Base has been a military presence in Germany for over five decades.
• On 1 January 1969, the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, located at nearby Bitburg Air Base, assumed operational control of Spangdahlem, becoming a dual-based wing.
• The 38 TRS was never equipped with RB-66B models.
• The 49 TFW remained at Spangdahlem AB until 1 July 1968 when it relocated to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, to serve as the US Air Force’s first dual-based, NATO-committed wing.
• The 726th AMS utilizes various aircraft maintenance equipment, de-icers, mission vehicles and aircraft loaders.
• The closest airport to Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Bitburg Airport (BBJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of SPM.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Spangdahlem Air Base", another name for SPM is "Spangdahlem AB".
• The initial USAF military presence began on 1 September 1952 with the arrival of the 7352d Air Base Squadron on 1 September 1952 from Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base near Munich.