Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Vivigani, Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GRF to VIV:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- VIV Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about VIV
- 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 VIV
- List of Nearest Airports to VIV
- Map of Furthest Airports from VIV
- List of Furthest Airports from VIV
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Vivigani Airport (VIV), Vivigani, Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,553 miles (or 10,546 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 Vivigani 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 Vivigani 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: | VIV / |
Airport Name: | Vivigani Airport |
Location: | Vivigani, Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 9°18'23"S by 150°19'11"E |
Airport Type: | Public |
View all routes: | Routes from VIV |
More Information: | VIV Maps & Info |
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- GAAF units have served in Iraq with Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, returning from a 15 month deployment on April 17, 2004.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- The 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield.
- Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
- Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
- 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 Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
- 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 field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C.
- 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)".
Facts about Vivigani Airport (VIV):
- The furthest airport from Vivigani Airport (VIV) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,915 miles (19,176 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
- The closest airport to Vivigani Airport (VIV) is Gurney Airport (GUR), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) S of VIV.
- The Australian 2/12th Battalion reached Vivigani on 27 October 1942, occupying the island after defeating the Imperial Japanese troops marooned on the island during World War II.