Nonstop flight route between Riverside, California, United States and Breda, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between March Air Reserve Base (RIV), Riverside, California, United States and Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ), Breda, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,575 miles (or 8,972 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 March Air Reserve 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 March Air Reserve 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 March Air Reserve Base (RIV):

• The signing of the armistice in November 1918 did not halt training at March Field.
• The closest airport to March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Flabob Airport (RIR), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NW of RIV.
• At the same time, the War Department announced its intentions to build several new military installations.
• After the war, March was assigned to the new Tactical Air Command as part of the postwar reorganization of the Army Air Force.
• The furthest airport from March Air Reserve Base (RIV) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,461 miles (18,445 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• On 1 May 1949, March became a part of the Strategic Air Command and the Fifteenth Air Force.

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.
• In addition to being known as "Gilze-Rijen Air Base", another name for GLZ is "(Advanced Landing Ground B-77)".
• Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) is Eindhoven Airport (EIN), which is located 21 miles (33 kilometers) ESE of GLZ.
• 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.
• 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 one of the oldest airfields in the Netherlands, the first aircraft to have landed there being a Blériot in 1910.