Nonstop flight route between Kitwe, Zambia and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from KIW to GRF:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- KIW Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about KIW
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to KIW
- List of Nearest Airports to KIW
- Map of Furthest Airports from KIW
- List of Furthest Airports from KIW
- Map of Nearest Airports to GRF
- List of Nearest Airports to GRF
- Map of Furthest Airports from GRF
- List of Furthest Airports from GRF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Southdowns Airport (KIW), Kitwe, Zambia and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,531 miles (or 15,339 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 Southdowns Airport and Gray 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 Southdowns Airport and Gray Army Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | KIW / FLSO |
Airport Name: | Southdowns Airport |
Location: | Kitwe, Zambia |
GPS Coordinates: | 12°54'1"S by 28°8'58"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4145 feet (1,263 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from KIW |
More Information: | KIW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRF / KGRF |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°4'45"N by 122°34'50"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 300 feet (91 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GRF |
More Information: | GRF Maps & Info |
Facts about Southdowns Airport (KIW):
- Because of Southdowns Airport's high elevation of 4,145 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KIW. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KIW a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Southdowns Airport (KIW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,920 miles (19,184 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- Southdowns Airport (KIW) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Southdowns Airport (KIW) is Kasompe Airport (CGJ), which is located 28 miles (46 kilometers) NW of KIW.
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
- The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
- Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
- In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
- Because of Gray Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Gray 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.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,809 miles (17,395 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
- World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.