Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Bole, Xinjiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Bole Alashankou Airport (BPL), Bole, Xinjiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,904 miles (or 9,502 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 Bole Alashankou 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 Bole Alashankou 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):

• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• In October 1921 Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplanes flew from the Naval Station at Sand Point to a grass airfield at what was then called "Camp Lewis", located at a site just west of today’s Gray AAF.
• The 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield.
• 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.
• Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• 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.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.

Facts about Bole Alashankou Airport (BPL):

• In addition to being known as "Bole Alashankou Airport", other names for BPL include "博乐阿拉山口机场" and "Bólè Ālāshānkǒu Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Bole Alashankou Airport (BPL) is Gamboa Airport (WCA), which is located 11,234 miles (18,080 kilometers) away in Castro, Chile.
• The closest airport to Bole Alashankou Airport (BPL) is Yining Airport (YIN), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) SW of BPL.