Nonstop flight route between Ailinglaplap Atoll, Marshall Islands and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ailinglaplap Atoll (AIP), Ailinglaplap Atoll, Marshall Islands and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,845 miles (or 7,798 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 Ailinglaplap Atoll 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 Ailinglaplap Atoll and Gray Army Airfield. 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 Ailinglaplap Atoll (AIP):

• The furthest airport from Ailinglaplap Atoll (AIP) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Ailinglaplap Atoll (meaning Ailinglaplap Atoll is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,218 miles (19,663 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
• Ailinglaplap Atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884.
• The closest airport to Ailinglaplap Atoll (AIP) is Woja Airport (WJA), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) WNW of AIP.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• Gray Army Airfield resides at elevation of 300 feet above mean sea level.
• 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 Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
• 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.
• 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.
• During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.