Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and South Lake Tahoe, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GWW to TVL:
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- About this route
- GWW Airport Information
- TVL Airport Information
- Facts about GWW
- Facts about TVL
- Map of Nearest Airports to GWW
- List of Nearest Airports to GWW
- Map of Furthest Airports from GWW
- List of Furthest Airports from GWW
- Map of Nearest Airports to TVL
- List of Nearest Airports to TVL
- Map of Furthest Airports from TVL
- List of Furthest Airports from TVL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL), South Lake Tahoe, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,527 miles (or 8,894 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow and Lake Tahoe 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow and Lake Tahoe Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GWW / EDBG |
Airport Name: | Royal Air Force Station Gatow |
Location: | Berlin, Germany |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°28'27"N by 13°8'17"E |
Operator/Owner: | formerly: Ministry of Defence, now: Bundeswehr |
Airport Type: | Military (airport no longer in operation) |
Elevation: | 161 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GWW |
More Information: | GWW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | TVL / KTVL |
Airport Name: | Lake Tahoe Airport |
Location: | South Lake Tahoe, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°53'38"N by 119°59'43"W |
Operator/Owner: | The City of South Lake Tahoe |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 6264 feet (1,909 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from TVL |
More Information: | TVL Maps & Info |
Facts about Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):
- The furthest airport from Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,694 miles (18,819 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The novel Air Bridge by Hammond Innes is partially set in RAF Gatow at the time of the Berlin Airlift, and is notable for its accurate descriptions of the Station, including corridors and rooms within it.
- On 20 June 1980, the Royal Australian Air Force presented a Douglas Dakota to RAF Gatow in commemoration of its role.
- The closest airport to Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NE of GWW.
- BEA moved to Tempelhof Airport in 1951, where most of West Berlin's commercial air transport operations were concentrated from then on.
- Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
- RAF Gatow has the unique and unlikely distinction of being the base for the only known operational use of flying boats in central Europe, during the Berlin Blockade, on the nearby Großer Wannsee in the Havel river.
- After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Chipmunk reconnaissance flights soon ceased and the two Chipmunks were flown to RAF Laarbruch, in Western Germany to await disposal action.
- RAF Gatow was also used as a civilian airport for a limited time.
- Alongside the Royal Air Force and various British civil aviation companies, the United States Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the South African Air Force all flew supplies into RAF Gatow during the Airlift.
- The General-Steinhoff Kaserne is also home to the Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr, the museum of the Air Force which has many displays and much information on German military aviation and the history of the airfield.
- Because of Royal Air Force Station Gatow's relatively low elevation of 161 feet, planes can take off or land at Royal Air Force Station Gatow 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.
Facts about Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL):
- The furthest airport from Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,214 miles (18,048 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) currently has only 1 runway.
- Airlines in bold flew jets to Lake Tahoe.
- Holiday Airlines Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops served Lake Tahoe in the 1960s and early 1970s, followed by Pacific Southwest Airlines and Air California Electras.
- Because of Lake Tahoe Airport's high elevation of 6,264 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at TVL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make TVL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) is Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of TVL.
- The ban on airline jets then ended, and jet flights resumed in 1983 on AirCal McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and later Boeing 737-300s.
- This high elevation airport in the Sierra Nevada just south of Lake Tahoe opened in 1959 with a 5900-ft runway.