Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to PLS:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- PLS Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about PLS
- 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 PLS
- List of Nearest Airports to PLS
- Map of Furthest Airports from PLS
- List of Furthest Airports from PLS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Providenciales International Airport (PLS), Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,283 miles (or 5,283 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 Providenciales 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 Providenciales 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: | PLS / MBPV |
| Airport Name: | Providenciales International Airport |
| Location: | Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 21°46'24"N by 72°15'56"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Providenciales Airport Company |
| Elevation: | 15 feet (5 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from PLS |
| More Information: | PLS Maps & Info |
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- 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 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 Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
- 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 furthest airport from Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,809 miles (17,395 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
- The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
Facts about Providenciales International Airport (PLS):
- Because of Providenciales International Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Providenciales 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.
- Providenciales International Airport (PLS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Providenciales International Airport (PLS) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is nearly antipodal to Providenciales International Airport (meaning Providenciales International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAAF Learmonth), and is located 12,029 miles (19,358 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Providenciales International Airport (PLS) is North Caicos Airport (NCA), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) ENE of PLS.
