Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Seymour Airport (GPS), Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,819 miles (or 6,146 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 Seymour 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 Seymour 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):

• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

Facts about Seymour Airport (GPS):

• Because of Seymour Airport's relatively low elevation of 207 feet, planes can take off or land at Seymour 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 furthest airport from Seymour Airport (GPS) is Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport (BTJ), which is located 11,911 miles (19,169 kilometers) away in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
• Seymour Airport (GPS) currently has only 1 runway.
• During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force defending the South American coastline and the Panama Canal against Japanese submarines.
• The closest airport to Seymour Airport (GPS) is San Cristóbal Airport (SCY), which is located 55 miles (88 kilometers) SE of GPS.