Nonstop flight route between Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hakodate Airport (HKD), Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,461 miles (or 7,179 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 Hakodate 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 Hakodate 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 Hakodate Airport (HKD):

• Because of Hakodate Airport's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Hakodate 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.
• In addition to being known as "Hakodate Airport", other names for HKD include "函館空港" and "Hakodate Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Hakodate Airport (HKD) is Aomori Airport (AOJ), which is located 72 miles (116 kilometers) S of HKD.
• The furthest airport from Hakodate Airport (HKD) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,458 miles (18,440 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Hakodate Airport (HKD) currently has only 1 runway.
• On September 6, 1976, Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected to the West by landing a MiG-25 Foxbat aircraft at Hakodate Airport.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• Another innovative aircraft came to GAAF in the fall of 2000.
• 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.
• 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.
• The Air Transport Command.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".