Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Upington, South Africa:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to UTN:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- UTN Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about UTN
- 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 UTN
- List of Nearest Airports to UTN
- Map of Furthest Airports from UTN
- List of Furthest Airports from UTN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Upington Airport (UTN), Upington, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,108 miles (or 16,268 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 Upington 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 Upington 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: |
|
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: | UTN / FAUP |
Airport Name: | Upington Airport |
Location: | Upington, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°24'3"S by 21°15'34"E |
Area Served: | Upington, Northern Cape |
Airport Type: | Public (International for Cargo only) |
Elevation: | 2791 feet (851 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from UTN |
More Information: | UTN Maps & Info |
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.
- 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.
- World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
- During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
- In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
- Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
Facts about Upington Airport (UTN):
- From August 1976 to December 1996, South African Airways made use of Upington as a refuelling station for two weekly scheduled Boeing 747 flights to London and Zurich.
- Upington Airport (UTN) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Upington Airport (UTN) is Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), which is located 147 miles (236 kilometers) ENE of UTN.
- The furthest airport from Upington Airport (UTN) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is nearly antipodal to Upington Airport (meaning Upington Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Princeville Airport), and is located 12,007 miles (19,323 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
- Planning is also under way at Upington Airport to construct a facility for the long-term parking of mothballed aircraft.
- Many major car manufacturers bring their cars and commercial vehicles to Upington to test them in the hot dry and sunny conditions.
- Upington Airport's runway was built to accommodate a Boeing 747 with a full load of passengers, cargo and fuel, so that it could take off for Europe without having to stop along the way.