Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Fox Glacier, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Fox Glacier Aerodrome (FGL), Fox Glacier, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,482 miles (or 12,041 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 Fox Glacier Aerodrome, 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 Fox Glacier Aerodrome. 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):

• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• 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 closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
• Another innovative aircraft came to GAAF in the fall of 2000.
• The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Gray Army Airfield, also known as Gray AAF, is a military airfield located within Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, in Pierce County, Washington, United States.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".

Facts about Fox Glacier Aerodrome (FGL):

• The furthest airport from Fox Glacier Aerodrome (FGL) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Fox Glacier Aerodrome (meaning Fox Glacier Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,356 miles (19,884 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• The closest airport to Fox Glacier Aerodrome (FGL) is Mount Cook Airport (MON), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SSE of FGL.