Nonstop flight route between Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mount Isa Airport (ISA), Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,618 miles (or 12,261 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 Mount Isa 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 Mount Isa 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 Mount Isa Airport (ISA):

• Since 2005 the airport has been owned by Queensland Airports Limited, which also owns Townsville Airport and Gold Coast Airport.
• Mount Isa Airport (ISA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Mount Isa Airport (ISA) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,402 miles (18,349 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• The closest airport to Mount Isa Airport (ISA) is Cloncurry Airport (CNJ), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) E of ISA.
• In the 2010-2011 financial year, Mount Isa Airport handled 217,525 passengers, a 25.1% increase over the previous year.
• On 22 September 1966 a Vickers Viscount aircraft departed from Mount Isa Airport with twenty passengers for a flight to Brisbane via Longreach.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion.
• 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.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
• 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.