Nonstop flight route between Nioki, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nioki Airport (NIO), Nioki, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,561 miles (or 13,778 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 Nioki 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 Nioki 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 Nioki Airport (NIO):

• The furthest airport from Nioki Airport (NIO) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Nioki Airport (meaning Nioki Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,090 miles (19,457 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Nioki Airport (NIO) is Bandundu Airport (FDU), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) SSW of NIO.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• 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.
• 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.
• The field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• 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.
• 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 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.