Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to WRI:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- WRI Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about WRI
- 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 WRI
- List of Nearest Airports to WRI
- Map of Furthest Airports from WRI
- List of Furthest Airports from WRI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and McGuire AFB (WRI), Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,413 miles (or 3,883 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 relatively short distance between Gray Army Airfield and McGuire AFB, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRF / KGRF |
| Airport Names: |
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| 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: | WRI / KWRI |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Wrightstown, New Jersey, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 40°0'56"N by 74°35'30"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from WRI |
| More Information: | WRI Maps & Info |
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
- 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.
- 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.
- Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
- Another innovative aircraft came to GAAF in the fall of 2000.
- 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.
- World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- After the Korean War, the 2d Aviation Company, of the 2d Infantry Division, which had been the first helicopter unit in Korea, returned to Fort Lewis with observation/spotter aircraft L-19 Bird Dogs, and L-20 Beavers, as well as H-23 Raven helicopters.
- 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.
Facts about McGuire AFB (WRI):
- The furthest airport from McGuire AFB (WRI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,757 miles (18,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- These squadrons flew a variety of ADC interceptors in the 1950s, starting with the F-94 Starfire in 1952, upgrading to the F-84 Thunderjet in 1953, and finally the interceptor F-86D Sabre later in 1953.
- The closest airport to McGuire AFB (WRI) is JB MDL Lakehurst (NEL), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) E of WRI.
- Fort Dix Army Air Base was phased down in the fall of 1945 and was placed on Temporary Inactive Status on 15 February 1945.
- In addition to being known as "McGuire AFB", another name for WRI is "McGuire AFB/JB MDL McGuire".
- MATS activities at the base began on 1 July 1954 with the 1611th Air Transport Wing being activated.
- The 305th Air Mobility Wing along with the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, 108th Air Refueling Wing, 621st Contingency Response Wing, and the 514th Air Mobility Wing, has supported every major type of air mobility mission over the past 15 years.
