Nonstop flight route between Spangdahlem, Germany and Funchal, Madeira, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), Spangdahlem, Germany and Madeira Airport (FNC), Funchal, Madeira, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,692 miles (or 2,723 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 relatively short distance between Spangdahlem Air Base and Madeira Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM):

• The 726th AMS utilizes various aircraft maintenance equipment, de-icers, mission vehicles and aircraft loaders.
• A complete reorganization of wing aircraft and aircrews occurred in November 1983, transforming the 52d TFW into the first and only all-defense suppression wing outside of the United States.
• 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.
• Upon its arrival at Spangdahlem AB, the 10 TRW operated Lockheed RF-80A Shooting Star for daylight aerial recon and the Douglas RB-26C Invader for night recon missions.
• In addition to being known as "Spangdahlem Air Base", another name for SPM is "Spangdahlem AB".
• 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 closest airport to Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Bitburg Airport (BBJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of SPM.

Facts about Madeira Airport (FNC):

• Because of Madeira Airport's relatively low elevation of 190 feet, planes can take off or land at Madeira 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 Madeira Airport (FNC) is Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH), which is nearly antipodal to Madeira Airport (meaning Madeira Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Lord Howe Island Airport), and is located 12,181 miles (19,604 kilometers) away in Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia.
• The closest airport to Madeira Airport (FNC) is Porto Santo Airport (PXO), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) NE of FNC.
• The new runway and terminal were inaugurated on 6 October 2002, and to mark the occasion an Air-Atlantic Iceland Boeing 747-267B, registration TF-ABA, landed at the airport.
• Madeira Airport handled 2,311,380 passengers last year.
• In 2000, the runway was again extended this time to 2,781 m almost doubling the size of the original runway.
• Madeira Airport (FNC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Between 1982 and 1986, Madeira's runway was successfully extended by 200 m to a total of 1,800 m, and also four gates were opened.
• In addition to being known as "Madeira Airport", another name for FNC is "Aeroporto da Madeira".