Nonstop flight route between Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States and Bilbao, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McGuire AFB (WRI), Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States and Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,590 miles (or 5,778 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 McGuire AFB and Bilbao 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 McGuire AFB and Bilbao 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 McGuire AFB (WRI):

• The host unit at McGuire AFB is the 87th Air Base Wing, United States Air Force Expeditionary Center, AMC..
• Military Air Transport Service took over jurisdiction of McGuire AFB on 1 July 1954 and took over the flight line of McGuire in 1956, with the ADC interceptors being reassigned.
• The closest airport to McGuire AFB (WRI) is JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) E of WRI.
• With the departure of the 91st SRW, control of McGuire AFB was reassigned to Continental Air Command.
• These squadrons flew a variety of ADC interceptors in the 1950s, starting with the F-94 Starfire in 1952, upgrading to the F-84 Thunderjet in 1953, and finally the interceptor F-86D Sabre later in 1953.
• The furthest airport from McGuire AFB (WRI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,757 miles (18,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The Twin Mustangs of the 52d FW were replaced by the ADC 4709th Defense Wing on 1 February 1952.
• With the closure of the Bomarc site, the by then renamed Aerospace Defense Command ended its activities at McGuire AFB.
• In addition to being known as "McGuire AFB", another name for WRI is "McGuire AFB/JB MDL McGuire".
• The 305th Air Mobility Wing along with the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, 108th Air Refueling Wing, 621st Contingency Response Wing, and the 514th Air Mobility Wing, has supported every major type of air mobility mission over the past 15 years.
• McGuire Air Force Base was established as Fort Dix Airport in 1937 and first opened to military aircraft on 9 January 1941.
• McGuire hosts the flying needs of its mission partners on JB MDL.

Facts about Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• After various aeronautic experiments in the province of Biscay, in October 1927 steps were taken by the Union of Public Works to establish an airport in Bilbao.
• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.
• The furthest airport from Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Bilbao Airport (meaning Bilbao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,260 miles (19,730 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• The terminal has a sleek design, with two symmetrical "wings" and a sharp tip at its center which is specially visible when approaching the terminal from the sides.
• Bilbao Airport handled 3,800,789 passengers last year.
• In 1996, a new taxiway with two rapid exits and a new aircraft parking apron were built.
• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• Because of Bilbao Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Bilbao 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.