Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Lawas, Sarawak, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Lawas Airport (LWY), Lawas, Sarawak, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,416 miles (or 11,934 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 Lawas 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 Lawas 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):

• 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.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• The Air Transport Command.
• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• 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.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Lawas Airport (LWY):

• Because of Lawas Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Lawas 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 Lawas Airport (LWY) is Tefé Airport (TFF), which is nearly antipodal to Lawas Airport (meaning Lawas Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tefé Airport), and is located 12,335 miles (19,851 kilometers) away in Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Lawas Airport", other names for LWY include "Lapangan Terbang Lawas" and "老越机场".
• Lawas Airport (LWY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lawas Airport (LWY) is Long Sukang Airport (LSU), which is located 21 miles (35 kilometers) SSE of LWY.