Nonstop flight route between Ellensburg, Washington, United States and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bowers Field (ELN), Ellensburg, Washington, United States and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 97 miles (or 155 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 relatively short distance between Bowers Field and Gray Army Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Bowers Field (ELN):

• Bowers Field (ELN) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Bowers Field (ELN) is Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft) (FCT), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) S of ELN.
• Bowers Field covers an area of 1,032 acres at an elevation of 1,764 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Bowers Field", another name for ELN is "(former Ellensburg Army Airfield)".
• The airfield was established in 1943 as Ellensburg Army Airfield and manned by the 302d Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron.
• The furthest airport from Bowers Field (ELN) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,769 miles (17,331 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Today, large numbers of former aircraft dispersal areas are still maintained, along with an extensive system of taxiways with what appear to be modern aircraft shelters.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• 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.
• 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 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 Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
• 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.