Nonstop flight route between Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, United States and Aachen, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX), Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, United States and Merzbrück Airfield (AAH), Aachen, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,803 miles (or 6,120 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 NAS JRB Willow Grove and Merzbrück Airfield, 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 NAS JRB Willow Grove and Merzbrück Airfield. 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 NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX):

• On February 29, 2008, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania released a report detailing a plan for a joint interagency installation, with a mission of national defense, homeland security and emergency preparedness.
• The closest airport to NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) is Wings Field (BBX), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) SW of NXX.
• Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove or NASJRB Willow Grove was a Naval Air Station owned by the U.S.
• Final closure of NAS JRB Willow Grove occurred on September 15, 2011.
• Because of NAS JRB Willow Grove's relatively low elevation of 335 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS JRB Willow Grove 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 NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,726 miles (18,871 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Flight activity began here in 1926 when Harold Frederick Pitcairn constructed a hangar and a grass airstrip in Horsham, Pennsylvania.
• On September 30, 2007, pursuant to direction of BRAC 2005, the Air Force Reserve Command disestablished the 913th Airlift Wing at the collocated Willow Grove ARS, redistributing its C-130 Hercules aircraft to other active duty Air Force and Air Force Reserve units.

Facts about Merzbrück Airfield (AAH):

• In addition to being known as "Merzbrück Airfield", another name for AAH is "Flugplatz Merzbrück".
• Merzbrück Airfield (AAH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Merzbrück Airfield's relatively low elevation of 623 feet, planes can take off or land at Merzbrück 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 Merzbrück Airfield (AAH) is NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NNW of AAH.
• In January 1945, as a result of the Western Allied invasion of Germany, United States Army forces moved though the Aachen area and captured Merzbrück Airport about 29 January.
• The furthest airport from Merzbrück Airfield (AAH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,937 miles (19,210 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.