Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Sibu, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Sibu Airport (SBW), Sibu, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,700 miles (or 12,392 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 Sibu 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 Sibu 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 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield.
• 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.
• In October 1921 Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplanes flew from the Naval Station at Sand Point to a grass airfield at what was then called "Camp Lewis", located at a site just west of today’s Gray AAF.
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
• 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.
• The Air Transport Command.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Sibu Airport (SBW):

• The first airport in Sibu was built in Teku, during World War II by the Japanese as a basic air strip.
• Sibu Airport (SBW) currently has only 1 runway.
• In April 2009, the airport was given RM 150 million for an upgrade of the terminal building.
• On 2 September 1992, a Fokker 50 aircraft landing gear failed, causing the aircraft to veer off the runway and into the bushes.
• Sibu Airport handled 1,383,887 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Sibu Airport", other names for SBW include "Lapangan Terbang Sibu", "诗巫机场" and "WBGS".
• The furthest airport from Sibu Airport (SBW) is Ipiranga Airport (IPG), which is nearly antipodal to Sibu Airport (meaning Sibu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ipiranga Airport), and is located 12,312 miles (19,814 kilometers) away in Santo Antônio do Içá, Amazonas, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Sibu Airport (SBW) is Mukah Airport (MKM), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) N of SBW.
• Sibu New Airport was built with a single runway designated as runway 13/31.
• Because of Sibu Airport's relatively low elevation of 122 feet, planes can take off or land at Sibu 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.