Nonstop flight route between Tonopah, Nevada, United States and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tonopah Airport (TPH), Tonopah, Nevada, United States and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,390 miles (or 8,674 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 Tonopah Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component, 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 Tonopah Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component. 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 Tonopah Airport (TPH):

• Because of Tonopah Airport's high elevation of 5,430 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at TPH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make TPH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Tonopah Airport (TPH) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Tonopah Airport (TPH) is Tonopah Test Range Airport (XSD), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) SE of TPH.
• The furthest airport from Tonopah Airport (TPH) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,197 miles (18,020 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):

• Following NATO’s decision to establish the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force program and to make the base near Teveren the Main Operating Base of the E­3A Component, a major construction program was started in 1980 to modify the operational and support facilities.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Normally, only a certain number of the E-3As and TCAs are present at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen at any given time.
• The furthest airport from NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,929 miles (19,198 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component's relatively low elevation of 296 feet, planes can take off or land at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component 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 Component operates seventeen Boeing E-3A AWACS aircraft all of which are based on the Boeing 707 airframe Trainer Cargo Aircraft but which have since been retired).
• An Economic Impact Study compiled by the NATO E-3A Component shows a 2008 economic impact of 275.8 million euro within a 200-kilometer radius of the base.
• The closest airport to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Merzbrück Airfield (AAH), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSE of GKE.
• In January 1980 the first E-3A Component personnel started arriving at the base, and in October 1980 the NATO Defence Planning Committee granted the E-3A Component the status of a NATO International Military Headquarters.