Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Hillsboro / Portland, Oregon, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO), Hillsboro / Portland, Oregon, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,182 miles (or 8,340 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 Portland-Hillsboro 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 Portland-Hillsboro Airport. 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):

• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 history of RAF Gatow and of western forces in Berlin from 1945 to 1994 is told in the Alliiertenmuseum, or the Allied Museum.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 20 June 1980, the Royal Australian Air Force presented a Douglas Dakota to RAF Gatow in commemoration of its role.

Facts about Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO):

• Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) has 2 runways.
• Hillsboro airport goes back to as early as 1928.
• Located in Portland's western and Washington County suburbs, Hillsboro Airport is connected to the metropolitan area by TriMet buses and the MAX Blue Line's Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station.
• The closest airport to Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) is Portland International Airport (PDX), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) E of HIO.
• Because of Portland-Hillsboro Airport's relatively low elevation of 204 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland-Hillsboro Airport 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 airport handled 259,263 flights in 2008, surpassing Portland International in this category.
• The airport was originally Hillsboro's municipal airport, which the Port of Portland bought in 1966.
• The furthest airport from Portland-Hillsboro Airport (HIO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,913 miles (17,563 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• A Horizon Air plane was hijacked on May 2, 1986, en route from Eugene to Portland, with the pilot able to convince the hijacker to allow the plane to land at HIO where the hijacker was arrested.
• The field was also considered as a possible Naval air station in 1946 and again in 1955, but was eventually rejected by the Navy.