Nonstop flight route between Whangarei, New Zealand and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whangarei Airport (WRE), Whangarei, New Zealand and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,925 miles (or 11,145 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 Whangarei 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 Whangarei 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 Whangarei Airport (WRE):

• Whangarei Airport (WRE) has 2 runways.
• This upgrade allowed Air New Zealand, through its subsidary airline Air Nelson, start trialing flights with their new Bombardier Q300 aircraft.
• The furthest airport from Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG), which is nearly antipodal to Whangarei Airport (meaning Whangarei Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,989 kilometers) away in Tangier, Morocco.
• With the outbreak of World War II immediately after the esablishment of the airfield, the airport taken over by RNZAF to serve as a training base there which became RNZAF Station Onerahi.
• The NAC began regular commercial flights between Whangarei and Auckland in 1947.
• Because of Whangarei Airport's relatively low elevation of 133 feet, planes can take off or land at Whangarei 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 runway is lit by pilot activation of the lights, and Av-Gas and Jet A1 are available by fuel card payment.
• The WDC predicts a high growth rate in aircraft movements over the next 15 years, potentially reaching 45,500 aircraft movements by 2027.
• The control tower was closed down in 1988 as the airport was too small to warrant the service.
• In 2007, Sunair begun daily air services between Whangarei, Tauranga, Rotorua and Napier.
• The closest airport to Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) WSW of WRE.
• Whangarei District Airport no longer has an Aero Club due to a drop in membership and private flying.

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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Another innovative aircraft came to GAAF in the fall of 2000.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.