Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Beijing, People's Republic of China:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to PEK:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- PEK Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about PEK
- 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 PEK
- List of Nearest Airports to PEK
- Map of Furthest Airports from PEK
- List of Furthest Airports from PEK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,403 miles (or 8,696 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 Beijing Capital 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 Beijing Capital 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: |
|
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: | PEK / ZBAA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Beijing, People's Republic of China |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°4'47"N by 116°35'3"E |
Area Served: | Beijing |
Operator/Owner: | Beijing Capital International Airport Company Limited |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 116 feet (35 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from PEK |
More Information: | PEK Maps & Info |
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- The field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- 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.
- During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
- During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
Facts about Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):
- To accommodate the growing traffic volume, Beijing Capital added the enormous Terminal 3 in 2008 in time for the Olympic Games, the second largest airport terminal in the world after Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3, and the sixth largest building in the world by area.
- Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
- Terminal 3 has 243 elevators, escalators or moving walkways.
- The roof of T3 has dozens of triangular windows to let in daylight.
- The airport provides free inter-terminal shuttle bus between Terminals 1, 2 and 3.
- In addition to being known as "Beijing Capital International Airport", other names for PEK include "北京首都国际机场" and "Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng".
- The furthest airport from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport (VDM), which is nearly antipodal to Beijing Capital International Airport (meaning Beijing Capital International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,920 kilometers) away in Viedma, Argentina.
- Because of Beijing Capital International Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at Beijing Capital 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.
- Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
- Along with X-ray scanners, additional equipment conducts checks such as for explosives.
- The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
- Terminal 1, with 60,000 m2 of space, opened on 1 January 1980, and replaced the smaller existing terminal which was in operation since 1958.