Nonstop flight route between Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NTU to GRF:
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- About this route
- NTU Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about NTU
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to NTU
- List of Nearest Airports to NTU
- Map of Furthest Airports from NTU
- List of Furthest Airports from NTU
- 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 Naval Air Station Oceana (NTU), Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,455 miles (or 3,951 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 relatively short distance between Naval Air Station Oceana and Gray Army Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | NTU / KNTU |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 36°49'14"N by 76°1'59"W |
| Operator/Owner: | United States of America |
| Airport Type: | Naval air station |
| # of Runways: | 4 |
| View all routes: | Routes from NTU |
| More Information: | NTU 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 Naval Air Station Oceana (NTU):
- Plans by the Navy to construct an outlying landing field supporting both NAS Oceana and MCAS Cherry Point in eastern North Carolina, initiated in 2006, met with fierce opposition by local residents and environmentalists.
- The closest airport to Naval Air Station Oceana (NTU) is Norfolk International Airport (ORF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) WNW of NTU.
- Tomcat training was conducted by VF-101 Grim Reapers.
- Naval Air Station Oceana (NTU) has 4 runways.
- Additionally, NAS Oceana became home to the F/A-18 Hornet in 1999 following the Navy's closure of NAS Cecil Field, Florida as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process.
- The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Oceana (NTU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,779 miles (18,956 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- During the 2005 round of BRAC base closures, it was decided that NAS Oceana could remain open only if certain conditions were met.
- Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic
- In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Oceana", another name for NTU is "Apollo Soucek Field".
- Home to seventeen strike fighter squadrons of F/A-18 Hornets and F/A-18 Super Hornets, the base is the sole East Coast Master Jet Base and home to all the east coast strike-fighter units.
- In early 2011, the U.S.
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
- World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
- 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.
- Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion.
- 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.
- With World War II, Gray Army Airfield received 1.7 million dollars for new hangars and improved facilities.
- During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
- It should not confused with Robert Gray Army Airfield at Fort Hood in Texas.
- 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.
- The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
- 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.
- 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.
- Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
