Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from AYH to GRF:
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- About this route
- AYH Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about AYH
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to AYH
- List of Nearest Airports to AYH
- Map of Furthest Airports from AYH
- List of Furthest Airports from AYH
- 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 RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,772 miles (or 7,679 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 RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 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 RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 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: | AYH / EGWZ |
| Airport Name: | RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 |
| Location: | Alconbury, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 52°21'47"N by 0°13'22"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from AYH |
| More Information: | AYH Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRF / KGRF |
| Airport Names: |
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| 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 RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH):
- The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
- Opened in 1938, it is currently a non-flying facility under the control of the United States Air Force.
- After a minimal amount of construction, RAF Alconbury was tested in May 1938 when No.
- The furthest airport from RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Operations from Alconbury with No.
- During the Second World War, it was controlled by the USAAF Eighth Air Force, from 23 February 1944 to 7 August 1945 the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, thereafter the United States Air Forces in Europe,
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- The 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield.
- 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.
- August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
- 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.
- During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
- The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
- Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
