Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Arusha, Tanzania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Arusha Airport (ARK), Arusha, Tanzania would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,171 miles (or 14,759 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 Gray Army Airfield and Arusha Airport, 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 Gray Army Airfield and Arusha Airport. 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 Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• 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 Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
• The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
• 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)".
• 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.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• 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.

Facts about Arusha Airport (ARK):

• Because of Arusha Airport's high elevation of 4,550 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ARK. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ARK a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport is currently undergoing an expansion which includes an extension of the current runway and new terminal buildings.
• The closest airport to Arusha Airport (ARK) is Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) E of ARK.
• Arusha Airport handled 122,621 passengers last year.
• Arusha Airport (ARK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Arusha Airport is a small airport serving Arusha, Tanzania.
• A few days later it was flown empty to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Arusha Airport", another name for ARK is "Uwanja wa Ndege wa Arusha  (Swahili)".
• The furthest airport from Arusha Airport (ARK) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,481 miles (18,477 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.