Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Greven, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO), Greven, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,979 miles (or 8,013 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 Münster Osnabrück International 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 Münster Osnabrück International 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):

• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• 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)".
• 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.
• 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.
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
• 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.
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

Facts about Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO):

• Because of Münster Osnabrück International Airport's relatively low elevation of 157 feet, planes can take off or land at Münster Osnabrück International 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 first charter flight from Münster/Osnabrück airport to Palma de Mallorca took place in 1973.
• In mid 1967 the German authorities approached the British Army for assistance in building an airfield to serve the Münster-Osnabrück area.
• The airport has roughly 7500 parking spaces spread over multiple car parks, two of which are multi-storey.
• Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO) is Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) NW of FMO.
• In addition to being known as "Münster Osnabrück International Airport", another name for FMO is "Flughafen Münster/Osnabrück".
• The furthest airport from Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,831 miles (19,040 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.