Nonstop flight route between Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan and Berlin, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Matsumoto Airport (MMJ), Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan and Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,472 miles (or 8,806 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 Matsumoto Airport and Royal Air Force Station Gatow, 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 Matsumoto Airport and Royal Air Force Station Gatow. 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 Matsumoto Airport (MMJ):

• The closest airport to Matsumoto Airport (MMJ) is Toyama Airport (TOY), which is located 53 miles (85 kilometers) NW of MMJ.
• Matsumoto Airport (MMJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Matsumoto Airport (MMJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,795 miles (18,982 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Matsumoto Airport", another name for MMJ is "松本空港".

Facts about Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):

• 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.
• Alongside the Royal Air Force and various British civil aviation companies, the United States Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the South African Air Force all flew supplies into RAF Gatow during the Airlift.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.