Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Southend, Essex (near London) United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and London Southend Airport (SEN), Southend, Essex (near London) United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,839 miles (or 7,788 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 London Southend 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 London Southend 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):

• 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 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.
• With World War II, Gray Army Airfield received 1.7 million dollars for new hangars and improved facilities.
• The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
• 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.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Air Transport Command.

Facts about London Southend Airport (SEN):

• Because of London Southend Airport's relatively low elevation of 55 feet, planes can take off or land at London Southend 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.
• The airfield was established by the Royal Flying Corps during World War I.
• Southend Airport handles mainly scheduled passenger, charter and business flights, cargo flights, pilot training, and recreational flying.
• The furthest airport from London Southend Airport (SEN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,885 miles (19,126 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• East Anglian Flying Services moved to Southend on 5 January 1947, their first scheduled service being a Southend—Rochester feeder service.
• In 1946, the airfield was decommissioned from military use and civil aviation returned in 1947, as did the Southend Municipal Airport name.
• A four-star Holiday Inn hotel located adjacent to the airport entrance opened on 1 October 2012.
• The closest airport to London Southend Airport (SEN) is Rochester Airport (RCS), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of SEN.
• London Southend Airport handled 969,912 passengers last year.
• London Southend Airport (SEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Heavy maintenance services and hangars for aircraft up to Boeing 757 and Airbus A321 size are available.
• Holland Aero Lines operated a Rotterdam to Southend service with a GAF Nomad aircraft between 4 February 1985 and December 1986.
• However in 1939, the Air Ministry requisitioned the airfield and it was known as RAF Rochford during World War II.