Nonstop flight route between Sembach, Germany and Rabaul, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX), Sembach, Germany and Rabaul Airport (RAB), Rabaul, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,690 miles (or 13,985 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 Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base and Rabaul 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 Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base and Rabaul 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 Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX):

• Sembach's origins date back to 1919 after World War I when French occupation troops used the eastern half of the present flightline as an airfield.
• With this announcement, and everyone being satisfied, Sembach became a center of activity once more, and construction of the administrative area of the base began in October 1952.
• On 6 December 1957 HQ, USAFE transferred the 19th and 30th TRS and their RB-66s to the 10th TRW.
• The closest airport to Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX) is Ramstein Air Base (RMS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of SEX.
• The furthest airport from Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,992 miles (19,299 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In April 1951, German surveyors visited the area in the company of French officers.
• During the remainder of the winter, the control tower, hangars, repair shops and other buildings were built along the taxiway.
• As part of the general withdrawal of French occupation forces from the left bank of the Rhine in 1930, the French abandoned the airfield on June 15, 1930.
• With the ongoing realignment of US forces in Europe the Army is preparing to move The United States Army Corrections Facility-Europe in Mannheim to Sembach Kaserne as all facilities in that city are to be closed no later than August 31, 2013.

Facts about Rabaul Airport (RAB):

• Rabaul Airport (RAB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Namatanai Airport (ATN), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) N of RAB.
• Rabaul Airport, also called Tokua Airport, is an airport serving Kokopo and Rabaul, the current and former capitals of East New Britain Province on New Britain island in Papua New Guinea.
• In addition to being known as "Rabaul Airport", another name for RAB is "Tokua Airport".
• The furthest airport from Rabaul Airport (RAB) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,780 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Because of Rabaul Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Rabaul 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.