Nonstop flight route between Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States and Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE), Pinellas County, Florida (near St. Petersburg and Clearwater), United States and Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL), Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,977 miles (or 8,010 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport and Fürstenfeldbruck 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport and Fürstenfeldbruck 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 St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE):

• To commemorate the airport's vital role during that conflict, a plaque was dedicated at the airport terminal in 1994 by the P-51 Fighter Pilots Association and Brigadier General James H.
• The airport is located on the west shoreline of Tampa Bay, six miles north of St.
• While most scheduled commercial airline traffic in the Tampa Bay Area uses Tampa International Airport, ten miles to the east, St.
• St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) has 4 runways.
• Also, the airport recently completed a US$22 million renovation, including, among other things, expanding the gate sizes, new plumbing, and building loading bridges, as the current system requires all passengers to walk across the tarmac to the gate.
• With the advent of the Jet age, the airport's runway was extended northward into Tampa Bay and the first commercial jet service to PIE was operated by Northwest.
• Because of St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Pete–Clearwater International 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.
• The furthest airport from St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,426 miles (18,388 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The 304th Fighter Squadron, a combat training unit of the 337th Fighter Group based P-40 Warhawks and, later, P-51 Mustangs at Pinellas Army Airfield for the duration of World War II.
• The closest airport to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is Clearwater Air Park (CLW), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NW of PIE.

Facts about Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL):

• The closest airport to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL) is Augsburg Airport (AGB), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) NW of FEL.
• The Replacement Depot functioned until August 1948, when USAFE decided to use Fürstenfeldbruck as an operational jet base.
• Fifty direct hits were made on the field the afternoon of 9 April 1945 when 338 B-17s of the 1st Air Division, 8th Air Force, unleashed 867 tons of bombs on the runways, hangars, repair shops, and other facilities.
• Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 27 January 1952 the activated Air National Guard 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing deployed to Europe as was assigned to Toul-Rosieres Air Base, France.
• The furthest airport from Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,958 miles (19,244 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On 20 January 1950, the 36th FW was redesignated as a Fighter-Bomber Wing when 89 Republic F-84E "Thunderjets" arrived.
• In addition to being known as "Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base", another name for FEL is "Flugplatz FürstenfeldbruckAdvanced Landing Ground R-72".