Nonstop flight route between Emirau, Papua New Guinea and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Emirau Airport (EMI), Emirau, Papua New Guinea and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,181 miles (or 9,948 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 Emirau 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 Emirau 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 Emirau Airport (EMI):

• The runways remain usable.
• Emirau Airport (EMI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Emirau Airport (EMI) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is nearly antipodal to Emirau Airport (meaning Emirau Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Governador Carlos Wilson Airport), and is located 12,022 miles (19,348 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Because of Emirau Airport's relatively low elevation of 100 feet, planes can take off or land at Emirau 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 Emirau Airport (EMI) is Kavieng Airport (KVG), which is located 87 miles (139 kilometers) SE of EMI.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (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.
• Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
• 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 addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
• 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.
• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.