Nonstop flight route between Pinehurst / Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States and Berlin, Germany:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SOP to GWW:
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- About this route
- SOP Airport Information
- GWW Airport Information
- Facts about SOP
- Facts about GWW
- Map of Nearest Airports to SOP
- List of Nearest Airports to SOP
- Map of Furthest Airports from SOP
- List of Furthest Airports from SOP
- Map of Nearest Airports to GWW
- List of Nearest Airports to GWW
- Map of Furthest Airports from GWW
- List of Furthest Airports from GWW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Moore County Airport (SOP), Pinehurst / Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States and Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,434 miles (or 7,136 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 Moore County 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 Moore County 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SOP / KSOP |
| Airport Name: | Moore County Airport |
| Location: | Pinehurst / Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 35°14'13"N by 79°23'27"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Moore County |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 461 feet (141 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SOP |
| More Information: | SOP Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GWW / EDBG |
| Airport Name: | Royal Air Force Station Gatow |
| Location: | Berlin, Germany |
| GPS Coordinates: | 52°28'27"N by 13°8'17"E |
| Operator/Owner: | formerly: Ministry of Defence, now: Bundeswehr |
| Airport Type: | Military (airport no longer in operation) |
| Elevation: | 161 feet (49 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GWW |
| More Information: | GWW Maps & Info |
Facts about Moore County Airport (SOP):
- The closest airport to Moore County Airport (SOP) is Mackall Army Airfield (HFF), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SSW of SOP.
- Most of the Moore County Airport property lies within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Whispering Pines, NC, prompting debate over who had ultimate regulatory power over it — the village of Whispering Pines or the Moore County Airport Authority.
- Because of Moore County Airport's relatively low elevation of 461 feet, planes can take off or land at Moore County 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.
- Moore County Airport (SOP) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Moore County Airport (SOP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,608 miles (18,682 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):
- These aircraft were also used for reconnaissance missions in co-operation with The British Commander-in-Chief's Mission to the Soviet Forces of Occupation in Germany, commonly known as BRIXMIS.
- 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.
- In November 1948, the latest RAF transport aircraft, the Handley Page Hastings, was added to the squadrons flying into RAF Gatow and some aircrews and aircraft were redeployed to train replacement aircrews.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Following the reunification of Germany, the British ceded control of Gatow Airport on 18 June 1994, and it was handed back to the German Air Force on 7 September 1994.
- 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.
- 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.
- During the Berlin Airlift, the Station was modernised with a 2,000 yards long concrete runway, using 794 German workers, in March 1947.
- 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.
