Nonstop flight route between West Yellowstone, Montana, United States and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WYS to GRF:
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- About this route
- WYS Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about WYS
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to WYS
- List of Nearest Airports to WYS
- Map of Furthest Airports from WYS
- List of Furthest Airports from WYS
- 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 Yellowstone Airport (WYS), West Yellowstone, Montana, United States and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 575 miles (or 925 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 Yellowstone 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: | WYS / KWYS |
| Airport Name: | Yellowstone Airport |
| Location: | West Yellowstone, Montana, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 44°41'17"N by 111°7'4"W |
| Area Served: | West Yellowstone, Montana |
| Operator/Owner: | State of Montana |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 6649 feet (2,027 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from WYS |
| More Information: | WYS 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 Yellowstone Airport (WYS):
- The closest airport to Yellowstone Airport (WYS) is Dubois Municipal Airport (DBS), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of WYS.
- Because of Yellowstone Airport's high elevation of 6,649 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WYS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WYS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Yellowstone Airport (WYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,685 miles (17,196 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- During the summer the base is home to 21 smokejumpers, pilots for the jump plane and retardant tanker, an office manager and a tanker base manager.
- Aerial Fire Center is located two miles north of the Yellowstone National Park Gateway community of West Yellowstone, MT, 90 miles south of Bozeman, MT and 100 miles northeast of Idaho Falls, Idaho.
- The town of West Yellowstone is located at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
- West Yellowstone jumpers and tanker are considered national resources.
- Yellowstone Airport (WYS) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
- 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.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
- The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
- Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
- 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.
