Nonstop flight route between Vivigani, Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VIV to GRF:
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- About this route
- VIV Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about VIV
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to VIV
- List of Nearest Airports to VIV
- Map of Furthest Airports from VIV
- List of Furthest Airports from VIV
- 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 Vivigani Airport (VIV), Vivigani, Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,553 miles (or 10,546 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 Vivigani 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 Vivigani 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | VIV / |
| Airport Name: | Vivigani Airport |
| Location: | Vivigani, Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea |
| GPS Coordinates: | 9°18'23"S by 150°19'11"E |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| View all routes: | Routes from VIV |
| More Information: | VIV Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRF / KGRF |
| Airport Names: |
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| 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 Vivigani Airport (VIV):
- The furthest airport from Vivigani Airport (VIV) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,915 miles (19,176 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
- The closest airport to Vivigani Airport (VIV) is Gurney Airport (GUR), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) S of VIV.
- The Australian 2/12th Battalion reached Vivigani on 27 October 1942, occupying the island after defeating the Imperial Japanese troops marooned on the island during World War II.
- The Royal Australian Air Force prepared the airfields, first building an emergency landing strip in April 1943.
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
- August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
- The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
- 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.
- 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.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- 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.
- 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.
