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Nordhorn-Lingen is a small Verkehrslandeplatz at Klausheide in the Grafschaft Bentheim, sited between the towns of Nordhorn and Lingen close to the Dutch border. It is home to a lively general aviation and gliding community, including one of Europe's largest airworthy vintage aircraft groups, and offers straightforward VFR access via AFIS-assisted radio.
Nordhorn-Lingen (EDWN) is a Verkehrslandeplatz operated by Flugplatz Nordhorn-Lingen GmbH at Klausheide, lying between the towns of Nordhorn and Lingen in the Grafschaft Bentheim district of Lower Saxony, close to the Dutch border. The field is a base for glider pilots, business and private flyers, and hosts two motor-flying schools, two gliding clubs, a school for ultralights, two companies and Europe's largest airworthy vintage-aircraft group, with around 100 aircraft (gliders, powered aircraft and helicopters) based there as of 2025. Its mix of history, active flying clubs and proximity to the Dutch border make it an interesting cross-border VFR destination for simulator pilots.
The airfield sits at Klausheide, about 9 km northeast of Nordhorn and 14 km southwest of Lingen (Ems), close to the Klausheide-Ost industrial estate and just north of the Ems-Vechte canal. A flight restriction area (Flugbeschränkungsgebiet) is associated with the field, though the full extent is not detailed here. Since 2004 the aerodrome has not been usable for commercial flights under European rules because of obstacles to the west of the field.
The airfield has a single physical runway, 05/23, of asphalt construction and lit. Runway 05 is 2231 ft long and Runway 23 is 2948 ft long. Field elevation is 82 ft.
Traffic at Nordhorn-Lingen is worked by AFIS on 129.875 MHz, callsign Langen Information, with the airfield's own frequency on 122.655 MHz, callsign Nordhorn Radio. There is no ILS at the field.
The land around the present airfield was bought by the Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach industrial family between 1910 and 1914 for an estate, and Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach often flew in to visit it by aircraft. Gliding enthusiasts from Nordhorn, Lingen and Meppen noticed the site and negotiated with the Krupp family to use it, starting gliding activity at Klausheide. Lufthansa added the field to its network as an emergency landing ground in 1927. At the start of the Second World War the airfield was expanded and taken over for military use, formally becoming an auxiliary airfield in 1941 under the Luftwaffe cover name Nogat; no permanent unit was based there until summer 1944, when Allied advances in the west forced many Luftwaffe fields out of use and Klausheide was given operational-airfield status (E21), with wooden infrastructure and camouflaged dispersal areas cut into the woods to the south. From September 1944 the airfield housed the ground element of Fliegerhorst-Kommandantur E (v) 223/XVII, and II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 26 'Schlageter', flying the Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9, was based there from 22 November 1944 until 25 March 1945, when it withdrew to Celle-Wietzenbruch after the airfield was bombed by the US Air Force and rendered unusable. British forces occupied Klausheide in early April 1945 and designated it Advanced Landing Ground ALG B-107. Although the site was earmarked for reforestation after the war, local aviation enthusiasts pressed for flying to resume, and the airfield reopened in 1952, with the Flughafenbetriebsgesellschaft Klausheide mbH founded in 1957. The airfield later featured in two notable incidents: wingsuit pioneer Gerard Masselin was killed jumping from 3,000 metres during the Klausheide air display on 15 September 1963, and in April 1964 former SS officer Hans-Walter Zech-Nenntwich, a fugitive convicted of complicity in murder, used the airfield to fly to Switzerland via Basel after being cleared through customs there, his escape only being discovered once he had already left German airspace. The runway was asphalted in 1987, permitting powered aircraft up to 10.0 tonnes to operate, and since 1996 the operator has unsuccessfully sought permission to lengthen the runway.
The airfield today is home to two motor-flying schools, two gliding clubs, an ultralight flying school, two companies and Europe's largest airworthy vintage-aircraft group, with roughly 100 aircraft based on site as of 2025, including gliders, powered aircraft and helicopters. It is owned by Flugplatz Nordhorn-Lingen GmbH, with the city of Nordhorn, the Lingen municipal transport company, the Grafschaft Bentheim and Emsland districts, two gliding clubs and several private individuals as shareholders.
