Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (RIA), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,814 miles (or 10,966 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 Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria Airport (RIA):

• Santa Maria Airport (RIA) has 2 runways.
• Some of its facilities are shared with the Santa Maria Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for RIA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is João Batista Bos Filho Airport (IJU), which is located 93 miles (150 kilometers) N of RIA.
• Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 289 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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.
• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is Aguni Airport (AGJ), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aguni Airport), and is located 12,214 miles (19,656 kilometers) away in Aguni, Japan.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
• 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.
• Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
• 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.
• During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support field.
• 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.
• GAAF units have served in Iraq with Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, returning from a 15 month deployment on April 17, 2004.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".