Nonstop flight route between Herat, Afghanistan and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Herat International Airport (HEA), Herat, Afghanistan and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,812 miles (or 10,963 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 Herat International 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 Herat International 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 Herat International Airport (HEA):

• The closest airport to Herat International Airport (HEA) is Qala i Naw Airport د قلعه نوهوائی ډګر (LQN), which is located 74 miles (119 kilometers) NE of HEA.
• The airport was originally built by engineers from the United States in the late 1950s.
• In addition to being known as "Herat International Airport", other names for HEA include "Herat Airport (Herat)" and "Persian: میدان هوایی بین المللی هرات‎".
• The furthest airport from Herat International Airport (HEA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,742 miles (18,897 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Herat International Airport (HEA) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• The 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield.
• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
• 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 closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
• Gray Army Airfield, also known as Gray AAF, is a military airfield located within Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, in Pierce County, Washington, United States.
• 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.
• 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.