Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kabul, Afghanistan:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to KBL:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- KBL Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about KBL
- 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 KBL
- List of Nearest Airports to KBL
- Map of Furthest Airports from KBL
- List of Furthest Airports from KBL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kabul International Airport (KBL), Kabul, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,748 miles (or 10,860 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 Kabul 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 Kabul International 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: | KBL / OAKB |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Kabul, Afghanistan |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°33'56"N by 69°12'43"E |
| Area Served: | Kabul, Kabul Province, Afghanistan |
| Operator/Owner: | Afghanistan |
| Airport Type: | Public / Military |
| Elevation: | 5877 feet (1,791 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from KBL |
| More Information: | KBL Maps & Info |
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- The 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield.
- 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.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
- Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
- During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
- GAAF units have served in Iraq with Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, returning from a 15 month deployment on April 17, 2004.
- 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 closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
Facts about Kabul International Airport (KBL):
- The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KBL) is Bagram Airfield (OAI), which is located 26 miles (43 kilometers) N of KBL.
- In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", another name for KBL is "میدان هوایی بین المللی کابل".
- Anders Fogh Rasmussen at Kabul Airport in 2009
- Kabul International Airport (KBL) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Kabul International Airport's high elevation of 5,877 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KBL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KBL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Kabul Airport was originally built in the early 1960s by Soviet engineers.
- The furthest airport from Kabul International Airport (KBL) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,919 miles (19,182 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
