Nonstop flight route between Tampa, Florida, United States and Breda, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States and Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ), Breda, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,631 miles (or 7,453 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 MacDill Air Force Base and Gilze-Rijen 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 MacDill Air Force Base and Gilze-Rijen 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 MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• The 44th Bombardment Group was activated at MacDill on 15 January 1941 equipped with the Consolidated B-24A Liberator.
• The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
• Beginning in January 1944, the 11th Photographic Group used MacDill for its mission of photographic mapping in the US and sent detachments to carry out similar operations in Africa, the CBI theater, the Near and Middle East, Mexico, Canada, Alaska, and the Caribbean.
• The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Flying operations at MacDill began in 1941 with the base's first mission being the defense of Gulf of Mexico.
• MacDill has a total of 38 tenant units according to the official MacDill website."MacDill Air Force Base Units".
• The base also supports the large military retiree community in the Tampa Bay area and surrounding environs.

Facts about Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ):

• The Stichting Koninklijke Luchtmacht Historische Vlucht is also located at Gilze-Rijen air base, owning and operating a collection of mainly historic military aircraft.
• Because of Gilze-Rijen Air Base's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Gilze-Rijen Air Base 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.
• The furthest airport from Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,897 miles (19,146 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1946, the Royal Netherlands Air Force resumed operations from the airfield, using it as a training base for pilots and air traffic controllers.
• In addition to being known as "Gilze-Rijen Air Base", another name for GLZ is "(Advanced Landing Ground B-77)".
• The closest airport to Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) is Eindhoven Airport (EIN), which is located 21 miles (33 kilometers) ESE of GLZ.
• In 2009, helicopter operations from Soesterberg Air Base were moved to Gilze-Rijen Air Base, which resulted in CH-47 Chinook and AS 532 Cougar helicopters being based at the airfield as well as the Alouette III for VIP transport, making Gilze-Rijen the main operating base for military helicopters in the Netherlands.
• Gilze-Rijen Air Base is a military airbase in the Netherlands located between the cities of Breda and Tilburg, in the Noord-Brabant province.
• Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) has 2 runways.