Nonstop flight route between Westerland, Germany and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sylt Airport (GWT), Westerland, Germany and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,833 miles (or 7,778 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 Sylt Airport and Gray Army Airfield, 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 Sylt Airport and Gray Army Airfield. 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 Sylt Airport (GWT):

• In addition to being known as "Sylt Airport", another name for GWT is "Flughafen Sylt".
• Sylt Airport (GWT) has 2 runways.
• Sylt Airport handled 21,000 passengers last year.
• Because of Sylt Airport's relatively low elevation of 51 feet, planes can take off or land at Sylt 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 furthest airport from Sylt Airport (GWT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,640 miles (18,733 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The island of Sylt used to be a famous destination for leisure and holidays back in the beginning of the 20th century.
• The closest airport to Sylt Airport (GWT) is Vojens Airport (SKS), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) ENE of GWT.
• During World War II the airport was significantly redeveloped and enlarged to serve as a military base.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• 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.
• 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.
• Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• 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 field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C.
• 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 Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
• The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
• 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.
• 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.
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.