Nonstop flight route between Sheffield, England, United Kingdom and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheffield City Heliport (SZD), Sheffield, England, United Kingdom and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,686 miles (or 7,541 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 Sheffield City Heliport 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 Sheffield City Heliport 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 Sheffield City Heliport (SZD):

• Before it opened, Sheffield was the largest city in Europe without its own airport although there was a proposal made in 1968 to build an airport on land near Todwick in Rotherham but came to nothing.
• Because of Sheffield City Heliport's relatively low elevation of 231 feet, planes can take off or land at Sheffield City Heliport 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.
• Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,799 miles (18,989 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) is Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield (DSA), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of SZD.
• The runway, as a part of the 80 acres, has been sold and will be developed into the Blue Skies Business Park.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• 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 Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
• 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.