Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Rhine, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ), Rhine, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,534 miles (or 8,905 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 Moffett Federal Airfield and Rheine-Bentlage 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 Moffett Federal Airfield and Rheine-Bentlage 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 Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• Moffett Federal Airfield has occasional air traffic, with an average of 5-10 flights landing per day.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• The Hangars One, Two, and Three, and the adjacent Shenandoah Plaza are collectively designated as a National Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• A spirited debate is underway over the future of Hangar One.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• As an aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Navy wanted to use the airship hangars at Moffett for blimp operations along with Pacific Coast.

Facts about Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ):

• The furthest airport from Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,825 miles (19,030 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Rheine-Bentlage Air Base", another name for ZPQ is "(Advanced Landing Ground B-108)".
• All units stationed at Rheine Air Base were incorporated into Army Aviation Medium Transport Regiment 15 in 2003.
• The closest airport to Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ) is Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) SE of ZPQ.
• Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Since unification of Germany in 1990, units from Rheine were deployed in as various part as the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan under the auspices of either NATO, the UN or the EU.
• Because of Rheine-Bentlage Air Base's relatively low elevation of 128 feet, planes can take off or land at Rheine-Bentlage 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.
• Rheine-Bentlage Air Base is located near the village of Bentlage, 2 km northwest of the city of Rheine, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
• In October 2011 the German Federal Ministry of Defence announced a reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces.