Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Comiso, Italy:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to CIY:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- CIY Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about CIY
- Map of Nearest Airports to GRF
- List of Nearest Airports to GRF
- Map of Furthest Airports from GRF
- List of Furthest Airports from GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to CIY
- List of Nearest Airports to CIY
- Map of Furthest Airports from CIY
- List of Furthest Airports from CIY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Comiso Airport (CIY), Comiso, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,054 miles (or 9,742 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 Comiso 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 Comiso Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRF / KGRF |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 47°4'45"N by 122°34'50"W |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 300 feet (91 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GRF |
| More Information: | GRF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | CIY / LICB |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Comiso, Italy |
| GPS Coordinates: | 36°59'30"N by 14°36'24"E |
| Area Served: | Comiso and Ragusa |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 620 feet (189 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from CIY |
| More Information: | CIY Maps & Info |
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- 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.
- Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion.
- During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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)".
- Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing 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.
- The Air Transport Command.
- 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.
Facts about Comiso Airport (CIY):
- Because of Comiso Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Comiso 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 Comiso Airport (CIY) is Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNE of CIY.
- Comiso Airport (CIY) currently has only 1 runway.
- During the Cold War, on August 7, 1981 it was officially selected as the second European main operating base for BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missiles, deployed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in response to the development and deployment of new intercontinental and intermediate range missiles by the Soviet Union.
- The first civil flight was made on a 30 April 2007, after the necessary tests and the inauguration of the new runway, but the airport was open to the traffic only the 30th of May 2013.
- During the summer of 1983, three large anti-nuclear demonstrations, largely funded by the Communist Party, were conducted around the base perimeter, with as many as 5,000 protesters at the events in late July, August and September.
- Today the NATO air base, located on the southeast side of the runway, is totally abandoned and empty.
- The furthest airport from Comiso Airport (CIY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The airfield and facilities at Magliocco fell into disuse during the postwar years.
- In addition to being known as "Comiso Airport", another name for CIY is "Aeroporto di Comiso".
