Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Wanaka, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to WKA:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- WKA Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about WKA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GRF
- List of Nearest Airports to GRF
- Map of Furthest Airports from GRF
- List of Furthest Airports from GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to WKA
- List of Nearest Airports to WKA
- Map of Furthest Airports from WKA
- List of Furthest Airports from WKA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Wanaka Airport (WKA), Wanaka, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,572 miles (or 12,187 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 Gray Army Airfield and Wanaka Airport, 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 Gray Army Airfield and Wanaka Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WKA / NZWF |
Airport Name: | Wanaka Airport |
Location: | Wanaka, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°43'20"S by 169°14'44"E |
Operator/Owner: | Wanaka Town Board and Management Committee |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1142 feet (348 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from WKA |
More Information: | WKA Maps & Info |
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- With World War II, Gray Army Airfield received 1.7 million dollars for new hangars and improved facilities.
- 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 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 Air Transport Command.
- The 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield.
- Gray Army Airfield resides at elevation of 300 feet above mean sea level.
- The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
- During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
- Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
Facts about Wanaka Airport (WKA):
- The furthest airport from Wanaka Airport (WKA) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Wanaka Airport (meaning Wanaka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,283 miles (19,768 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
- The closest airport to Wanaka Airport (WKA) is Queenstown Airport (ZQN), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) SW of WKA.
- The lack of a VHF omnidirectional range beacon at the airport poses an issue for some aircraft.
- Scheduled services were operated by Air New Zealand's 19 seater Beechcraft 1900D to Christchurch, this finished on 30 January 2013.
- The airport is the site of the biennial Warbirds over Wanaka international airshow.
- Wanaka Airport (WKA) currently has only 1 runway.
- Non scheduled services are made by Vincent Aviation to Te Anau and Wellington, Aspiring Air to Queenstown 3 flights per day, and Glenorchy Air from Queenstown and Glenorchy.