Nonstop flight route between Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kikwit Airport (KKW), Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,737 miles (or 14,061 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 Kikwit 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 Kikwit 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 Kikwit Airport (KKW):

• Kikwit Airport (KKW) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Kikwit Airport", another name for KKW is "Kikwit Airport".
• The closest airport to Kikwit Airport (KKW) is Idiofa Airport (IDF), which is located 56 miles (90 kilometers) E of KKW.
• The furthest airport from Kikwit Airport (KKW) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Kikwit Airport (meaning Kikwit Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,097 miles (19,468 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
• Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
• It should not confused with Robert Gray Army Airfield at Fort Hood in Texas.
• 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.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• 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.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• 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.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.