Nonstop flight route between Lamu, Kenya and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Manda Airport (LAU), Lamu, Kenya and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,185 miles (or 14,781 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 Manda 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 Manda 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 Manda Airport (LAU):

• Manda Airport (LAU) has 2 runways.
• Its location is approximately 450 kilometres, by air, southeast of Nairobi International Airport, the country's largest civilian airport.
• The closest airport to Manda Airport (LAU) is Kiwayu Airport (KWY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NE of LAU.
• Because of Manda Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Manda 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 Manda Airport (LAU) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,607 miles (18,679 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• 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 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.
• Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• 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.