Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT), Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,771 miles (or 7,679 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 Fa'a'ā 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 Fa'a'ā International 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.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• 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.
• Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.

Facts about Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT):

• The closest airport to Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) is Moorea Airport (MOZ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) WNW of PPT.
• Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) currently has only 1 runway.
• McDonald's is at terminal 2 and is close to the conveyor belts.
• Because of Fa'a'ā International Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Fa'a'ā 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.
• In addition to being known as "Fa'a'ā International Airport", another name for PPT is "Aéroport International Tahiti Fa'a'ā".
• The furthest airport from Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) is El Debba Airport (EDB), which is nearly antipodal to Fa'a'ā International Airport (meaning Fa'a'ā International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from El Debba Airport), and is located 12,387 miles (19,935 kilometers) away in El Debba (Al Dabbah), Sudan.
• Fa'a'ā International Airport is relatively small.
• Air Tahiti has its head office at the airport.
• Many buses come into the airport from Pape'ete, the main bus being the Fa'a'ā airport shuttle which goes along Tahiti's west coast freeway, which passes in front of the main terminal.