Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Bedford, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED), Bedford, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,773 miles (or 6,072 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 Laurence G. Hanscom Field, 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 Laurence G. Hanscom Field. 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 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.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• In November 1948, the latest RAF transport aircraft, the Handley Page Hastings, was added to the squadrons flying into RAF Gatow and some aircrews and aircraft were redeployed to train replacement aircrews.
• Late April 1945, towards the end of World War II in Europe, the airfield was occupied by the advancing Red Army.
• Following the reunification of Germany, the British ceded control of Gatow Airport on 18 June 1994, and it was handed back to the German Air Force on 7 September 1994.
• 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.
• To commemorate Australian participation in the Airlift, the Royal Australian Air Force presented RAF Gatow with a retired Douglas Dakota in the 1980s, to use as a gate guardian.
• 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.
• The first landing by a Royal Air Force aircraft was by Avro Anson serial number PW698 on 2 July 1945 at 11.55 hours.
• Clues to the airfield's original use survive in the barrack block accommodation, each block of which was named after a famous German airman of the First World War, with the airman's bust above the entrance door.

Facts about Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED):

• Hanscom can be reached by car by following Route 2A west from exit 30B on I-95/Route 128.
• Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) has 2 runways.
• Hanscom's traffic is primarily business jets and general aviation aircraft.
• The field serves aircraft from Piper Cubs to Gulfstream V jets.
• The furthest airport from Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,753 miles (18,914 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• From 1999 until 2003, Shuttle America, a Connecticut-based regional airline operating for US Airways Express, operated scheduled service from the airfield, carrying more than 10,000 passengers each month to airports in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania using De Havilland Dash 8 and Saab 340 aircraft.
• The closest airport to Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) is Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) ESE of BED.
• Because of Laurence G. Hanscom Field's relatively low elevation of 132 feet, planes can take off or land at Laurence G. Hanscom Field 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.
• In addition to being known as "Laurence G. Hanscom Field", another name for BED is "Hanscom Air Force Base".
• Hanscom's flight school that offers ratings up to ATP.
• In February 2006, NBA player Sebastian Telfair was questioned after a handgun registered to his girlfriend was found in his pillowcase aboard the Portland Trail Blazers team plane.