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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Saransk Airport (SKX), Saransk, Russia and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,408 miles (or 8,703 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 Saransk 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 Saransk 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 Saransk Airport (SKX):

• The closest airport to Saransk Airport (SKX) is Penza Airport (PEZ), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) S of SKX.
• The furthest airport from Saransk Airport (SKX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,451 miles (16,820 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Saransk Airport", another name for SKX is "Аэропорт Саранск".
• Because of Saransk Airport's relatively low elevation of 676 feet, planes can take off or land at Saransk 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.
• Saransk Airport (SKX) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• 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 Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
• The 1938 construction included two paved runways, a boiler plant, headquarters building, metal balloon hangar, six-plane hangar, corrugated-iron hangar, storehouse, flight-surgeon office, and film-storage building.
• 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.
• 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.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• 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.