Nonstop flight route between Batticaloa, Sri Lanka and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Batticaloa Airport (BTC), Batticaloa, Sri Lanka and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,370 miles (or 13,470 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 Batticaloa 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 Batticaloa 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 Batticaloa Airport (BTC):

• In addition to being known as "Batticaloa Airport", another name for BTC is "மட்டக்களப்பு விமான நிலையம்මඩකලපුව ගුවන්තොටුපළ".
• The furthest airport from Batticaloa Airport (BTC) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Batticaloa Airport (BTC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Batticaloa Airport (BTC) is Ampara Airport (ADP), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) S of BTC.
• Because of Batticaloa Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Batticaloa 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".