Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Medan, Indonesia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to MES:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- MES Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about MES
- 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 MES
- List of Nearest Airports to MES
- Map of Furthest Airports from MES
- List of Furthest Airports from MES
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Polonia International Airport (MES), Medan, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,135 miles (or 13,093 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 Polonia 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 Polonia 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: | MES / WIMM |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Medan, Indonesia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 3°33'29"N by 98°40'18"E |
| Area Served: | Medan |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of Indonesia |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 114 feet (35 meters) |
| View all routes: | Routes from MES |
| More Information: | MES Maps & Info |
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.
- Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
- Gray Army Airfield, also known as Gray AAF, is a military airfield located within Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, in Pierce County, Washington, United States.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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 closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
- With World War II, Gray Army Airfield received 1.7 million dollars for new hangars and improved facilities.
- After the Korean War, the 2d Aviation Company, of the 2d Infantry Division, which had been the first helicopter unit in Korea, returned to Fort Lewis with observation/spotter aircraft L-19 Bird Dogs, and L-20 Beavers, as well as H-23 Raven helicopters.
Facts about Polonia International Airport (MES):
- The airport is now closed to commercial aviation and replaced by Kuala Namu International Airport.
- Until recently, the airport consisted of an international and domestic terminal.
- In addition to being known as "Polonia International Airport", other names for MES include "Bandar Udara Internasional Polonia" and "WIMK".
- All flights and services from this airport shifted to Kuala Namu International Airport on 25 July 2013.
- The airport's last arrival is AirAsia from Bandung at 23:50 WIB.
- Because of Polonia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 114 feet, planes can take off or land at Polonia International 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 airport suffered from overcrowding, serving 7,5 million passengers annually in facilities designed to handle only 900,000 passengers.
- The furthest airport from Polonia International Airport (MES) is Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport (TBP), which is nearly antipodal to Polonia International Airport (meaning Polonia International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport), and is located 12,371 miles (19,910 kilometers) away in Tumbes, Peru.
- In 1879 the concession was handed over to Deli Maatschappij or NV Deli Maskapai.
- The closest airport to Polonia International Airport (MES) is Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of MES.
