Nonstop flight route between Derry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between City of Derry Airport (LDY), Derry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,447 miles (or 7,157 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 City of Derry 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 City of Derry 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 City of Derry Airport (LDY):

• In April 2009 the council issued tender documents for a multi-million pound expansion of the terminal to improve passenger flow and meet current EU customs and immigration regulations.
• A report by Ilex-URC in September 2010, pointed out that there is intentions to grow and increase the number of scheduled routes out of the airport from 7 as of 2010, to 10 by 2015, and 15 by 2020.
• Because of City of Derry Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at City of Derry 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.
• A major redevelopment programme was undertaken by the Council from 1989 to 1993 with grant aid from the European Regional Development Fund.
• The closest airport to City of Derry Airport (LDY) is Belfast International Airport (BFS), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) SE of LDY.
• City of Derry Airport handled 384,973 passengers last year.
• City of Derry Airport (LDY) currently has only 1 runway.
• 2010 saw the commencement of a new route to Faro with Ryanair, the airport's second scheduled international destination.
• In addition to being known as "City of Derry Airport", another name for LDY is "Londonderry/Eglinton Airport[1]".
• The furthest airport from City of Derry Airport (LDY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,838 miles (19,051 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• During 1998 and 1999 safety improvements were undertaken at the airport as a matter of priority.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
• 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.
• The Air Transport Command.
• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• 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.
• 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 furthest airport from Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,809 miles (17,395 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• 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.
• Gray Army Airfield resides at elevation of 300 feet above mean sea level.