Nonstop flight route between Spangdahlem, Germany and Jackson, Tennessee, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), Spangdahlem, Germany and McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL), Jackson, Tennessee, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,612 miles (or 7,423 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 Spangdahlem Air Base and McKellar-Sipes Regional 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 Spangdahlem Air Base and McKellar-Sipes Regional 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 Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM):

• The 49th received two Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards for F-105 operations at Spangdahlem.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Spangdahlem Air Base", another name for SPM is "Spangdahlem AB".
• The closest airport to Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Bitburg Airport (BBJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of SPM.
• The 23 TFS carried out tactical fighter training missions, while the 39 TEWS was a deployed squadron from Shaw AFB, South Carolina to conduct electronic warfare missions and train tactical reconnaissance and electronic warfare crews in Europe.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL):

• As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 134 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 1,502 in 2009, and 2,545 in 2010.
• McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL) has 2 runways.
• Because of McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at McKellar-Sipes Regional 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 closest airport to McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL) is Roscoe Turner Airport (CRX), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) SSE of MKL.
• Major Sipes was killed in action during the Vietnam War but he was killed when his F-101 Voodoo crashed after takeoff from RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England.
• The furthest airport from McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,072 miles (17,819 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The facility was inactivated on October 16, 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.