Nonstop flight route between Mianwali, Pakistan and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between PAF Base M.M. Alam (MWD), Mianwali, Pakistan and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,864 miles (or 11,047 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 PAF Base M.M. Alam 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 PAF Base M.M. Alam 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 PAF Base M.M. Alam (MWD):

• Originally a World War II airstrip, it was decided that Mianwali would be upgraded into a satellite airbase for PAF Base Mushaf during the 1965 Indo-Pak War to act as an alternate recovery airfield.
• PAF Base M.M. Alam (MWD) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to PAF Base M.M. Alam (MWD) is Dera Ismail Khan Airport (DSK), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) SW of MWD.
• Because of PAF Base M.M. Alam's relatively low elevation of 690 feet, planes can take off or land at PAF Base M.M. Alam 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 PAF Base M.M. Alam (MWD) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is nearly antipodal to PAF Base M.M. Alam (meaning PAF Base M.M. Alam is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mataveri International Airport), and is located 12,059 miles (19,407 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force was the Chief Guest at the occasion.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
• Gray Army Airfield, also known as Gray AAF, is a military airfield located within Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, in Pierce County, Washington, United States.
• 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.
• 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.
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
• 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.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• GAAF units have served in Iraq with Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, returning from a 15 month deployment on April 17, 2004.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".