Nonstop flight route between Pierre, South Dakota, United States and Spangdahlem, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pierre Regional Airport (PIR), Pierre, South Dakota, United States and Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), Spangdahlem, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,583 miles (or 7,376 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 Pierre Regional 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 Pierre Regional 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 Pierre Regional Airport (PIR):

• In addition to being known as "Pierre Regional Airport", another name for PIR is "Pierre Army Airfield".
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 15,983 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 13,692 in 2009 and 14,686 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,493 miles (16,887 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) has 2 runways.
• Until June 30, 2006, service on Great Lakes Airlines to Denver was subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.
• The closest airport to Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Mobridge Municipal Airport (MBG), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) N of PIR.
• A new terminal has been designed, and construction began in late Spring, 2011.

Facts about Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM):

• In 1957 the RB-57s and RF-84s were transferred to Chateauroux-Deols Air Depot and the 1st and 38th were re-equipped with the Douglas RB-66 Destroyer.
• The closest airport to Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Bitburg Airport (BBJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of SPM.
• The 52 TFW gained its third fighter squadron with the activation of the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 15 November 1976.
• In addition to being known as "Spangdahlem Air Base", another name for SPM is "Spangdahlem AB".
• The Air Mobility Command 726th Air Mobility Squadron at Spangdahlem supports cargo and passenger traffic as part of its airlift mission, providing command and control, maintenance and aerial port capability to all AMC aircraft transiting their ramp.
• 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.
• The 726th AMS utilizes various aircraft maintenance equipment, de-icers, mission vehicles and aircraft loaders.
• 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.