Nonstop flight route between Comayagua, Honduras and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from XPL to GRF:
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- About this route
- XPL Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about XPL
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to XPL
- List of Nearest Airports to XPL
- Map of Furthest Airports from XPL
- List of Furthest Airports from XPL
- 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 Soto Cano Air Base (XPL), Comayagua, Honduras and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,022 miles (or 4,863 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 Soto Cano Air Base 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 Soto Cano Air Base 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: | XPL / MHSC |
Airport Name: | Soto Cano Air Base |
Location: | Comayagua, Honduras |
GPS Coordinates: | 14°22'57"N by 87°37'15"W |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 2060 feet (628 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from XPL |
More Information: | XPL 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 Soto Cano Air Base (XPL):
- The closest airport to Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) is Marcala Airport (MRJ), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) WSW of XPL.
- As of January 2008, all 44 of the apartment buildings were finished and already occupied.
- Personnel assigned to Soto Cano can ride a bus that will transport them to Soto Cano from Tegucigalpa.
- The US government once used Palmerola as a base of operations to support their foreign policy objectives in the 1980s.
- The furthest airport from Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Soto Cano Air Base (meaning Soto Cano Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- Soto Cano Air Base (XPL) currently has only 1 runway.
- The Constitution of Honduras does not permit a permanent foreign presence in Honduras.
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
- 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.
- Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- The Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.