Nonstop flight route between San Bernardino, California, United States and Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States and Bitburg Airport (BBJ), Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,692 miles (or 9,160 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 Norton Air Force Base and Bitburg Airport, 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 Norton Air Force Base and Bitburg Airport. 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 Norton Air Force Base (SBD):

• Norton was placed on the Department of Defense's base closure list in 1989.
• LAADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the designation was returned as the 27th Air Division, being stationed at Luke AFB, Arizona under Fourth Air Force as part of a consolidation with the inactivating Phoenix Air Defense Sector.
• Discrete C-130 Hercules modification tests were conducted out of Area II of the base in the late 1960s, with the 1198th Operational Evaluation and Training Squadron operating four highly classified C-130E special operations testbeds modified at Lockheed Air Services, at near-by Ontario Airport under projects Thin Slice and Heavy Chain.
• Norton Air Force Base was named for San Bernardino native Captain Leland Francis Norton.
• The closest airport to Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is San Bernardino International Airport (SBT), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) S of SBD.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".
• The furthest airport from Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,447 miles (18,423 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• With the air force moving into the jet age in the late 1940s, Norton began overhauling jet engines in 1951, and the San Bernardino Air Materiel Area became one of three air force jet overhaul centers by 1953.

Facts about Bitburg Airport (BBJ):

• In addition to being known as "Bitburg Airport", another name for BBJ is "Flugplatz Bitburg".
• Bitburg Airport (BBJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bitburg Airport is a commercial airport serving Bitburg, a city in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany.
• Between June and September 1997 it was necessary to repair the Spangdahlem Air Base runway, called for a temporary location to accommodate the 52d Fighter Wing's three squadrons of F-15s and F-16s.
• The furthest airport from Bitburg Airport (BBJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,990 miles (19,295 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Bitburg Airport (BBJ) is Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ENE of BBJ.
• On September 15, 2008, the Ministry of Transport of Rhineland-Palatinate granted the airport contractor landing rights for aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of more than 14 tonnes, and the use of IFR traffic rules upon arrival and departure.