Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Harrisburg International Airport (MDT), Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,088 miles (or 6,578 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 Harrisburg International 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 Harrisburg International 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):

• During the Berlin Airlift, the Station was modernised with a 2,000 yards long concrete runway, using 794 German workers, in March 1947.
• 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.
• 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.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Harrisburg International Airport (MDT):

• In 1998 the Commonwealth transferred ownership to the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority.
• The closest airport to Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) is Capital City Airport (HAR), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) WNW of MDT.
• Because of Harrisburg International Airport's relatively low elevation of 310 feet, planes can take off or land at Harrisburg International 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 terminal has 12 gates and is a pier finger lay out near the middle of the airfield, almost parallel to the runway.
• The Middletown Air Depot at Olmsted provided logistical and maintenance support of military aircraft until it closed in 1969.
• Harrisburg International Airport has freight-forwarding capability.
• Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Despite the closure of Olmsted AFB in 1969, the US Air Force continues an Air National Guard presence at Harrisburg in the form of Harrisburg Air National Guard Station and the Pennsylvania Air National Guard's 193rd Special Operations Wing, an Air Force Special Operations Command -gained unit flying the EC-130 Commando Solo aircraft.
• The furthest airport from Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,654 miles (18,755 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.