Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Cocos Islands, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), Cocos Islands, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,119 miles (or 14,676 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 Cocos (Keeling) Island 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 Cocos (Keeling) Island 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):

• 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.
• GAAF units have served in Iraq with Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, returning from a 15 month deployment on April 17, 2004.
• 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.
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
• 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 furthest airport from Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,809 miles (17,395 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• 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.
• The field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C.

Facts about Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK):

• Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Cocos Island Airport is not one of the busiest in Australia but still served 15,712 revenue passengers during financial year 2010-2011.
• Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport handled 15,712 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) is Corn Island International Airport (RNI), which is nearly antipodal to Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (meaning Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Corn Island International Airport), and is located 12,429 miles (20,003 kilometers) away in Corn Island, Nicaragua.
• Because of Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Cocos (Keeling) Island 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 Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) is Christmas Island Airport (XCH), which is located 612 miles (985 kilometers) E of CCK.
• The airport has one runway, designated 15/33, with an asphalt surface measuring 2,441 m × 45 m and an elevation of 10 ft above sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport", other names for CCK include "Lapangan Terbang Pulu Koko" and "YPCC".