Nonstop flight route between Malakal, South Sudan and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malakal Airport (MAK), Malakal, South Sudan and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,215 miles (or 13,220 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 Malakal 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 Malakal 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 Malakal Airport (MAK):

• Malakal Airport (MAK) currently has only 1 runway.
• As part of the United Nation's Mission to Sudan, the airport was a major staging point for United Nation operations to South Sudan and will continue to do so under the new United Nation's Mission to South Sudan mandate.
• The furthest airport from Malakal Airport (MAK) is Ahe Airport (AHE), which is nearly antipodal to Malakal Airport (meaning Malakal Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ahe Airport), and is located 12,072 miles (19,428 kilometers) away in Ahe, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Malakal Airport (MAK) is Beica Airport (BEI), which is located 196 miles (315 kilometers) E of MAK.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (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 closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• 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 (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.