Nonstop flight route between South Lake Tahoe, California, United States and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from TVL to GRF:
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- About this route
- TVL Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about TVL
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to TVL
- List of Nearest Airports to TVL
- Map of Furthest Airports from TVL
- List of Furthest Airports from TVL
- Map of Nearest Airports to GRF
- List of Nearest Airports to GRF
- Map of Furthest Airports from GRF
- List of Furthest Airports from GRF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL), South Lake Tahoe, California, United States and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 580 miles (or 934 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 relatively short distance between Lake Tahoe Airport and Gray Army Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | TVL / KTVL |
Airport Name: | Lake Tahoe Airport |
Location: | South Lake Tahoe, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°53'38"N by 119°59'43"W |
Operator/Owner: | The City of South Lake Tahoe |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 6264 feet (1,909 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from TVL |
More Information: | TVL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRF / KGRF |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°4'45"N by 122°34'50"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 300 feet (91 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GRF |
More Information: | GRF Maps & Info |
Facts about Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL):
- Because of Lake Tahoe Airport's high elevation of 6,264 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at TVL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make TVL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The ban on airline jets then ended, and jet flights resumed in 1983 on AirCal McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and later Boeing 737-300s.
- Airlines in bold flew jets to Lake Tahoe.
- The furthest airport from Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,214 miles (18,048 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) is Minden-Tahoe Airport (MEV), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of TVL.
- Lake Tahoe Airport (TVL) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
- Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion.
- After the Korean War, the 2d Aviation Company, of the 2d Infantry Division, which had been the first helicopter unit in Korea, returned to Fort Lewis with observation/spotter aircraft L-19 Bird Dogs, and L-20 Beavers, as well as H-23 Raven helicopters.
- The field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- 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.
- Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
- 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.
- Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.