Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Bloomington, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI), Bloomington, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,511 miles (or 7,260 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 Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal, 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 Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal. 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):

• Also on the site of the former RAF station, but not part of General-Steinhoff Kaserne, is a school, the Hans-Carossa-Gymnasium, and houses for government employees of the Federal Republic of Germany.
• The airfield was originally constructed in 1934 and 1935 by the Luftwaffe as a staff and technical college, Luftkriegsschule 2 Berlin-Gatow, in imitation of the Royal Air Force College at RAF Cranwell.
• After the Berlin Blockade, RAF Gatow served as an airfield for the British Army's Berlin Infantry Brigade, and was prepared to revert to its role as a supply base, if another Berlin Airlift to West Berlin ever became necessary.
• 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.
• The RAF Gatow Station Flight used two De Havilland Chipmunk T10s, one of which is now in the Alliiertenmuseum, to maintain and exercise the British legal right under the Potsdam Agreement to use the airspace over both West and East Berlin, as well as the air corridors to and from West Germany to the city.
• RAF Gatow was also used as a civilian airport for a limited time.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI):

• The closest airport to Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI) is General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) WNW of BMI.
• The following summer, on July 11, 1929, a larger crowd, estimated at 15,000, gathered at the airfield for the Central Illinois Air Derby.
• Because of Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal's relatively low elevation of 871 feet, planes can take off or land at Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal 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.
• Despite the efforts of local aviation enthusiasts and the business community, attempts to establish long-term passenger service at the Normal field ended in failure.
• Hangar rental, fueling, and aircraft maintenance facilities are available.
• Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI) has 2 runways.
• The airport dates to the spring of 1927 when farmer Herman Will opened a 70-plus-acre tract in rural Normal Township.
• The furthest airport from Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,045 miles (17,775 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.