Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NZJ to GRF:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- NZJ Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about NZJ
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to NZJ
- List of Nearest Airports to NZJ
- Map of Furthest Airports from NZJ
- List of Furthest Airports from NZJ
- 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 MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 960 miles (or 1,545 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 MCAS El Toro 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: | NZJ / KNZJ |
Airport Name: | MCAS El Toro |
Location: | Santa Ana, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°40'33"N by 117°43'51"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Marine Corps |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 383 feet (117 meters) |
# of Runways: | 5 |
View all routes: | Routes from NZJ |
More Information: | NZJ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRF / KGRF |
Airport Names: |
|
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 MCAS El Toro (NZJ):
- Because of MCAS El Toro's relatively low elevation of 383 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS El Toro 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 1950, El Toro was selected as a permanent Master Jet Station for the Fleet Marine Forces, Pacific.
- In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
- The closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.
- The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
- MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
- The furthest airport from MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,486 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Before the site could be developed for civilian use, the Department of the Navy was required to perform environmental remediation to clean up contaminated soil on the site.
- This faction lobbied strongly in favor of other uses for the property.
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.
- The 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield.
- The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
- The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
- 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.
- Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
- 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 addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- The Air Transport Command.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.