Nonstop flight route between Maota, Samoa and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS), Maota, Samoa and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,201 miles (or 8,371 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 Maota (Salelologa) 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 Maota (Salelologa) 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 Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS):

• The closest airport to Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS) is Faleolo International Airport (APW), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) ESE of MXS.
• The furthest airport from Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS) is Maradi Airport (MFQ), which is nearly antipodal to Maota (Salelologa) Airport (meaning Maota (Salelologa) Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maradi Airport), and is located 12,391 miles (19,942 kilometers) away in Maradi, Niger.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
• The field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C.
• 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.
• 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.
• After the Korean War, the 2d Aviation Company, of the 2d Infantry Division, which had been the first helicopter unit in Korea, returned to Fort Lewis with observation/spotter aircraft L-19 Bird Dogs, and L-20 Beavers, as well as H-23 Raven helicopters.
• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• 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.
• 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.
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
• 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.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.