Nonstop flight route between Arona, Ulawa Island, Solomon Islands and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ulawa Airport (RNA), Arona, Ulawa Island, Solomon Islands and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,047 miles (or 9,731 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 Ulawa 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 Ulawa 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 Ulawa Airport (RNA):

• The closest airport to Ulawa Airport (RNA) is Kirakira Airport (IRA), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) S of RNA.
• The furthest airport from Ulawa Airport (RNA) is Bubaque Airport (BQE), which is nearly antipodal to Ulawa Airport (meaning Ulawa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bubaque Airport), and is located 12,258 miles (19,728 kilometers) away in Bubaque, Guinea-Bissau.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• It should not confused with Robert Gray Army Airfield at Fort Hood in Texas.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• 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.
• Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion.
• Gray Army Airfield, also known as Gray AAF, is a military airfield located within Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, in Pierce County, Washington, United States.
• The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• The Air Transport Command.
• During the Korean War, GAAF continued in the role as a training and division support 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.
• 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.