Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Helena / West Helena, Arkansas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield (HEE), Helena / West Helena, Arkansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,886 miles (or 7,863 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 Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield, 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 Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield. 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):

• RAF Gatow was from 1970 also used by the UKs Army Air Corps, 7 Aviation Flight AAC, later renamed 7 Flight AAC being based at the station initially flying four Westland Sioux and later three Aérospatiale Gazelle AH 1 helicopters.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Late April 1945, towards the end of World War II in Europe, the airfield was occupied by the advancing Red Army.
• The airfield is now called General-Steinhoff Kaserne.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield (HEE):

• Because of Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 242 feet, planes can take off or land at Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield 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 airfield was operated under contract to USAAF by Aero-Tech providing basic flight instruction to aviation cadets.
• Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield (HEE) has 2 runways.
• The airfield was turned over to civil control at the end of the war though the War Assets Administration.
• The furthest airport from Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield (HEE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,968 miles (17,651 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Thompson-Robbins AirportThompson-Robbins Army Airfield (HEE) is Tunica Municipal Airport (UTM), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ENE of HEE.