Nonstop flight route between Waterford, Ireland and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Waterford Airport (WAT), Waterford, Ireland and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,594 miles (or 7,394 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 Waterford 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 Waterford 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 Waterford Airport (WAT):

• The furthest airport from Waterford Airport (WAT) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Waterford Airport (meaning Waterford Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,013 miles (19,333 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Passengers numbers through Waterford Airport in 2009 fall due to routes being suspended to Bordeaux, Faro, Malaga and Amsterdam and service reductions on routes to Birmingham, London Luton and Manchester.
• Between 1987 and 1988 Aer Lingus operated services to Dublin.
• Airport development was initiated by Waterford Corporation with support from the Government of Ireland and the private sector in 1979–1980.
• Waterford Airport handled 8,000 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Waterford Airport (WAT) is Kilkenny Airport (KKY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of WAT.
• Flybe announced a route to Manchester starting 22 May 2013, which was dropped by Aer Lingus Regional on 6 January.
• Because of Waterford Airport's relatively low elevation of 119 feet, planes can take off or land at Waterford 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.
• The airport opened in 1981 with a 1,200 by 29 m runway for single and twin-engine light aircraft and a portable cabin as terminal building.
• In addition to being known as "Waterford Airport", another name for WAT is "Aerfort Phort Láirge".

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• 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.
• The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
• 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 closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• 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.
• The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.