Nonstop flight route between Penza, Russia and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Penza Airport (PEZ), Penza, Russia and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,476 miles (or 8,812 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 Penza 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 Penza 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 Penza Airport (PEZ):

• The furthest airport from Penza Airport (PEZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,463 miles (16,838 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Penza Airport", another name for PEZ is "Аеропорт Пенза".
• Penza Airport (PEZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Penza Airport (PEZ) is Saransk Airport (SKX), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) N of PEZ.
• Because of Penza Airport's relatively low elevation of 614 feet, planes can take off or land at Penza 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.

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.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 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 Air Transport Command.
• Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
• 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.
• During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.