Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Rongelap Atoll, Marshall Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Rongelap Airport (RNP), Rongelap Atoll, Marshall Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,742 miles (or 7,631 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 Rongelap 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 Rongelap 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 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)".
• 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 Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
• 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.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Rongelap Airport (RNP):

• Rongelap Airport (RNP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Rongelap Airport (RNP) is Wotho Airport (WTO), which is located 91 miles (146 kilometers) SW of RNP.
• The furthest airport from Rongelap Airport (RNP) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Rongelap Airport (meaning Rongelap Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,200 miles (19,634 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.