Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kalabo, Zambia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to KLB:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- KLB Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about KLB
- 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 KLB
- List of Nearest Airports to KLB
- Map of Furthest Airports from KLB
- List of Furthest Airports from KLB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kalabo Airport (KLB), Kalabo, Zambia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,451 miles (or 15,209 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 Kalabo 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 Kalabo 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: | KLB / FLKL |
| Airport Name: | Kalabo Airport |
| Location: | Kalabo, Zambia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 14°59'49"S by 22°28'50"E |
| Area Served: | Kalabo |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 3920 feet (1,195 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from KLB |
| More Information: | KLB Maps & Info |
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 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
- The 1938 construction included two paved runways, a boiler plant, headquarters building, metal balloon hangar, six-plane hangar, corrugated-iron hangar, storehouse, flight-surgeon office, and film-storage building.
- Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
- In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
- During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
- The field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C.
- The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Kalabo Airport (KLB):
- The furthest airport from Kalabo Airport (KLB) is Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA), which is nearly antipodal to Kalabo Airport (meaning Kalabo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kona International Airport at Keāhole), and is located 12,095 miles (19,465 kilometers) away in Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States.
- Kalabo Airport (KLB) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Kalabo Airport (KLB) is Mongu Airport (MNR), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) ESE of KLB.
