Nonstop flight route between Den Helder, Netherlands and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between De Kooy Airfield (DHR), Den Helder, Netherlands and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,866 miles (or 7,830 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 De Kooy Airfield 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 De Kooy Airfield 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 De Kooy Airfield (DHR):

• The furthest airport from De Kooy Airfield (DHR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,805 miles (18,998 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The oil fields in the North Sea will eventually be depleted and when that happens the airport would lose most of its helicopter movements and thus alternative markets are being looked at, such as business and holiday flights.
• The closest airport to De Kooy Airfield (DHR) is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), which is located 43 miles (68 kilometers) S of DHR.
• Because of De Kooy Airfield's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at De Kooy 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.
• De Kooy Airfield (DHR) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "De Kooy Airfield", other names for DHR include "Vliegveld De Kooy", "Den Helder Airport" and "Maritiem Vliegkamp De Kooy".
• Most movements on the De Kooy are made by helicopters, bringing workers to and from offshore oilrigs and naval helicopters such as the Westland Lynx or NH90 of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
• 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.
• 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)".
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• In October 1921 Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplanes flew from the Naval Station at Sand Point to a grass airfield at what was then called "Camp Lewis", located at a site just west of today’s Gray AAF.
• The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
• 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 furthest airport from Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,809 miles (17,395 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.