Nonstop flight route between Futuna Island, Taféa, Vanuatu and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Futuna Airport (FTA), Futuna Island, Taféa, Vanuatu and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,202 miles (or 9,981 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 Futuna 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 Futuna 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 Futuna Airport (FTA):

• The furthest airport from Futuna Airport (FTA) is Tichitt Airport (THI), which is nearly antipodal to Futuna Airport (meaning Futuna Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tichitt Airport), and is located 12,361 miles (19,894 kilometers) away in Tichitt, Mauritania.
• The closest airport to Futuna Airport (FTA) is Aniwa Airport (AWD), which is located 46 miles (73 kilometers) WNW of FTA.

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.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• After the Korean War, the 2d Aviation Company, of the 2d Infantry Division, which had been the first helicopter unit in Korea, returned to Fort Lewis with observation/spotter aircraft L-19 Bird Dogs, and L-20 Beavers, as well as H-23 Raven helicopters.
• 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)".
• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• 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.
• Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.