Nonstop flight route between Mmabatho, South Africa and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MBD to GRF:
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- About this route
- MBD Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about MBD
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to MBD
- List of Nearest Airports to MBD
- Map of Furthest Airports from MBD
- List of Furthest Airports from MBD
- Map of Nearest Airports to GRF
- List of Nearest Airports to GRF
- Map of Furthest Airports from GRF
- List of Furthest Airports from GRF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Mafikeng Airport (MBD), Mmabatho, South Africa and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,162 miles (or 16,354 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 Mafikeng 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 Mafikeng 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MBD / FAMM |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Mmabatho, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 25°48'27"S by 25°32'39"E |
Area Served: | Mafikeng, South Africa |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4181 feet (1,274 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MBD |
More Information: | MBD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRF / KGRF |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°4'45"N by 122°34'50"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 300 feet (91 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GRF |
More Information: | GRF Maps & Info |
Facts about Mafikeng Airport (MBD):
- The furthest airport from Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is nearly antipodal to Mafikeng Airport (meaning Mafikeng Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kalaupapa Airport), and is located 12,081 miles (19,443 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
- The closest airport to Mafikeng Airport (MBD) is Lobatse Airport (LOQ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNE of MBD.
- In addition to being known as "Mafikeng Airport", another name for MBD is "Mmabatho Airport".
- Because of Mafikeng Airport's high elevation of 4,181 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MBD. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MBD a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Mafikeng Airport (MBD) currently has only 1 runway.
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 furthest airport from Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,809 miles (17,395 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
- The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
- 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.
- World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
- During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
- Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
- 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 field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C.