Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Minsk, Belarus:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Minsk National Airport (MSQ), Minsk, Belarus would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,252 miles (or 8,452 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 Minsk National 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 Minsk National 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• The Air Transport Command.
• It should not confused with Robert Gray Army Airfield at Fort Hood in Texas.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".

Facts about Minsk National Airport (MSQ):

• Minsk National Airport (MSQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Minsk National Airport (MSQ) is Minsk-1 Airport (MHP), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) W of MSQ.
• The furthest airport from Minsk National Airport (MSQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,134 miles (17,918 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport is located 42 km east of Minsk, and is linked with the city with a toll-free highway.
• In addition to being known as "Minsk National Airport", another name for MSQ is "Нацыянальны аэрапорт МінскНациональный аэропорт Минск".
• Because of Minsk National Airport's relatively low elevation of 669 feet, planes can take off or land at Minsk National 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.
• In 1977 in the environs of the Belarusian capital the building of the new airport "Minsk-2" was begun.