Nonstop flight route between Manchester, United Kingdom and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Manchester Airport (MAN), Manchester, United Kingdom and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,665 miles (or 7,507 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 Manchester 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 Manchester 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 Manchester Airport (MAN):

• Terminal 3 acquired an extra security control area in November 2007, near check-in area C, dedicated to passengers travelling to Common Travel Area destinations.
• Manchester Airport handled 20,751,581 passengers last year.
• Because of Manchester Airport's relatively low elevation of 257 feet, planes can take off or land at Manchester 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.
• Caribbean services are mix of scheduled and charter services operated by Virgin Atlantic, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways to varied destinations including Cuba, Jamaica, Barbados, Dominican Republic and others.
• Manchester Airport (MAN) has 2 runways.
• Manchester Airport offers flights to over 190 destinations across the globe and 65 tour operators utilise the facility.
• During World War II it was the Royal Air Force's base RAF Ringway, and was important in military aircraft production and training parachutists.
• The closest airport to Manchester Airport (MAN) is Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) W of MAN.
• Terminal 3 was known in succession as "Terminal 1 – British Airways", "Terminal 1A" and "Terminal 3 – British Airways and Domestic” before becoming simply known as Terminal 3This Terminal now handles the majority of domestic routes from Manchester as well as some scheduled European flights and a few intercontinental flights.The terminal was opened in 1989 by Diana, Princess of Wales as 'Terminal 1 Domestic' before re-designating as Terminal 3 in May 1998.
• The furthest airport from Manchester Airport (MAN) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,824 miles (19,029 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• 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 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.
• 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 closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
• 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.