Nonstop flight route between São Paulo, Brazil and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH), São Paulo, Brazil and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,781 miles (or 10,914 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 São Paulo/Congonhas 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 São Paulo/Congonhas 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 São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH):

• In addition to being known as "São Paulo/Congonhas Airport", another name for CGH is "Aeroporto de São Paulo/Congonhas".
• São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) has 2 runways.
• São Paulo/Congonhas Airport handled 17,119,530 passengers last year.
• In 2008 Congonhas lost its international category.
• On 21 May 1959, a formal agreement between Varig, Cruzeiro do Sul and VASP created the shuttle service to Rio de Janeiro that made the airport famous, being the first of its kind in the world.
• The furthest airport from São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (meaning São Paulo/Congonhas Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,235 miles (19,691 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
• The closest airport to São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) is São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) NE of CGH.
• Congonhas has slot restrictions operating with a maximum of 30 operations/hour, being one of the three airports with such restrictions in Brazil.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• GAAF units have served in Iraq with Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, returning from a 15 month deployment on April 17, 2004.
• Gray Army Airfield, also known as Gray AAF, is a military airfield located within Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, in Pierce County, Washington, United States.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• The Air Transport Command.
• 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 Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
• During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
• 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.
• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.