Nonstop flight route between Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PDL to GRF:
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- About this route
- PDL Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about PDL
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to PDL
- List of Nearest Airports to PDL
- Map of Furthest Airports from PDL
- List of Furthest Airports from PDL
- 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 João Paulo II Airport (PDL), Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,659 miles (or 7,499 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 João Paulo II 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 João Paulo II 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PDL / LPPD |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°44'30"N by 25°41'52"W |
Area Served: | Ponta Delgada |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 259 feet (79 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PDL |
More Information: | PDL 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 João Paulo II Airport (PDL):
- João Paulo II Airport (PDL) currently has only 1 runway.
- João Paulo II Airport, named after Pope John Paul II, is an airport located on the island of São Miguel, 2 km west of the city dock of Ponta Delgada on the Azores in Portugal.
- Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Flores, Santa Maria, Horta and Beja, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation was conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98.
- João Paulo II Airport handled 928,801 passengers last year.
- The furthest airport from João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to João Paulo II Airport (meaning João Paulo II Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,188 miles (19,615 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
- Because of João Paulo II Airport's relatively low elevation of 259 feet, planes can take off or land at João Paulo II Airport 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 "João Paulo II Airport", another name for PDL is "Aeroporto João Paulo II".
- The closest airport to João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) SSE of PDL.
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- The Air Transport Command.
- 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)".
- 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 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 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
- 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.