Nonstop flight route between Namatanai, Papua New Guinea and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Namatanai Airport (ATN), Namatanai, Papua New Guinea and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,168 miles (or 9,927 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 Namatanai 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 Namatanai 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Namatanai Airport (ATN):

• The closest airport to Namatanai Airport (ATN) is Lihir Island Regional Airport (LNV), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) NNE of ATN.
• Because of Namatanai Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Namatanai 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.
• The furthest airport from Namatanai Airport (ATN) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,818 miles (19,019 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Namatanai Airport (ATN) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• The field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
• During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
• 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)".
• 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.
• It should not confused with Robert Gray Army Airfield at Fort Hood in Texas.
• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• 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.
• Another innovative aircraft came to GAAF in the fall of 2000.
• 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.