Nonstop flight route between Fritzlar, Hessen, Germany and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fritzlar Air Base (FRZ), Fritzlar, Hessen, Germany and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,075 miles (or 8,168 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 Fritzlar Air Base 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 Fritzlar Air Base 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 Fritzlar Air Base (FRZ):

• During the Berlin Blockade in 1948/49, Fritzlar Air Base served as radio beacon and emergency airfield on route back to Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.
• Fritzlar Air Base (FRZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Fritzlar Air Base (FRZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,865 miles (19,096 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Fritzlar Air Base", another name for FRZ is "Heeresflugplatz FritzlarAdvanced Landing Ground Y-86".
• The closest airport to Fritzlar Air Base (FRZ) is Kassel Calden Airport (KSF), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) NNE of FRZ.
• Because of Fritzlar Air Base's relatively low elevation of 566 feet, planes can take off or land at Fritzlar Air Base 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 March 1945 a training squadron of Nachtjagdgeschwader 101 was based in Fritzlar.
• Air force operations were phased out on 14 September 1947, and the air base was turned over to the United States Army.

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.
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
• It should not confused with Robert Gray Army Airfield at Fort Hood in Texas.
• 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 addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
• 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.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.