Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Islay, Scotland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Islay Airport (ILY), Islay, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,439 miles (or 7,143 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 Islay 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 Islay 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):

• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• 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.
• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion.
• The 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• With World War II, Gray Army Airfield received 1.7 million dollars for new hangars and improved facilities.
• 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.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.

Facts about Islay Airport (ILY):

• The furthest airport from Islay Airport (ILY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,783 miles (18,963 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Islay Airport (ILY) has 2 runways.
• Islay Airport handled 28,486 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Islay Airport", another name for ILY is "Port-adhair Ìle".
• Because of Islay Airport's relatively low elevation of 56 feet, planes can take off or land at Islay 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 Islay Airport (ILY) is Colonsay Airport (CSA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) N of ILY.