Nonstop flight route between Bintulu, Malaysia and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bintulu Airport (BTU), Bintulu, Malaysia and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,610 miles (or 12,247 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 Bintulu 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 Bintulu 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 Bintulu Airport (BTU):

• Bintulu Airport (BTU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Bintulu Airport (BTU) is Carauari Airport (CAF), which is nearly antipodal to Bintulu Airport (meaning Bintulu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Carauari Airport), and is located 12,315 miles (19,820 kilometers) away in Carauari, Amazonas, Brazil.
• History of Bintulu airport began in early 1937 when the British colony built an airfield situated between a river at one end and the sea coast at the other end.
• In addition to being known as "Bintulu Airport", other names for BTU include "Lapangan Terbang Bintulu" and "民都鲁机场".
• In 1963, bigger types of aircraft such as DC-3 services were introduced.
• Bintulu Airport handled 779,774 passengers last year.
• Because of Bintulu Airport's relatively low elevation of 74 feet, planes can take off or land at Bintulu 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 closest airport to Bintulu Airport (BTU) is Belaga Airport (BLG), which is located 61 miles (99 kilometers) ESE of BTU.

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.
• 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.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
• Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
• During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".