Nonstop flight route between Pago Pago, American Samoa and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PPG to GRF:
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- About this route
- PPG Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about PPG
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to PPG
- List of Nearest Airports to PPG
- Map of Furthest Airports from PPG
- List of Furthest Airports from PPG
- 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 Pago Pago International Airport (PPG), Pago Pago, American Samoa and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,177 miles (or 8,332 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 Pago Pago International 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 Pago Pago International 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: | PPG / NSTU |
Airport Name: | Pago Pago International Airport |
Location: | Pago Pago, American Samoa |
GPS Coordinates: | 14°16'45"S by 170°42'2"W |
Area Served: | Pago Pago |
Operator/Owner: | American Samoan Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 32 feet (10 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from PPG |
More Information: | PPG 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 Pago Pago International Airport (PPG):
- The closest airport to Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Ofu Airport (OFU), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) E of PPG.
- The airport was a vital link to the Samoan Islands until the runway at Faleolo International Airport in Independent Samoa was improved and lengthened to handle larger than Boeing 737 type aircraft in 1984.
- Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) has 2 runways.
- New terminal buildings and tarmac ramp areas were also constructed.
- The site and location of the current airport was originally known as Tafuna Airfield.
- The furthest airport from Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Pago Pago International Airport (meaning Pago Pago International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,396 miles (19,950 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.
- Pago Pago International Airport, also known as Tafuna Airport, is a public airport located 7 miles southwest of the central business district of Pago Pago, in the village and plains of Tafuna on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States.
- Pago Pago International Airport is a frequent stopover for United States military aircraft flying in the South Pacific and is the only airport in the area with TACAN capabilities.
- Because of Pago Pago International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Pago Pago 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.
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- 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.
- The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
- 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.
- The 1938 construction included two paved runways, a boiler plant, headquarters building, metal balloon hangar, six-plane hangar, corrugated-iron hangar, storehouse, flight-surgeon office, and film-storage building.
- Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion.
- After the Korean War, the 2d Aviation Company, of the 2d Infantry Division, which had been the first helicopter unit in Korea, returned to Fort Lewis with observation/spotter aircraft L-19 Bird Dogs, and L-20 Beavers, as well as H-23 Raven helicopters.
- 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.