Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MEL to GRF:
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- About this route
- MEL Airport Information
- GRF Airport Information
- Facts about MEL
- Facts about GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to MEL
- List of Nearest Airports to MEL
- Map of Furthest Airports from MEL
- List of Furthest Airports from MEL
- 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,163 miles (or 13,138 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 Melbourne 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 Melbourne 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MEL / YMML |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°40'23"S by 144°50'35"E |
Area Served: | Melbourne |
Operator/Owner: | Australia Pacific Airports Corporation Limited |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 434 feet (132 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MEL |
More Information: | MEL 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL):
- Because of Melbourne Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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 closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
- Before the opening of Melbourne Airport, Melbourne's main airport was Essendon Airport which was officially designated an international airport in 1950.
- Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
- Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Melbourne Airport (meaning Melbourne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,613 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
- An expansion of the terminal was approved in 1989 and completed in 1991 when a second pier was added by Ansett to the south for use by smaller regional airline Kendell.
- In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
- Terminal 1 hosts domestic services for Qantas Group airlines, Qantas, Jetstar and QantasLink and is located to the northern end of the building.
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- The Air Transport Command.
- 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.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
- 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 Washington National Guard 66th Aviation Brigade trains at Grey AAF and provides transportation support for fighting wildfires.
- 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.
- After the Korean War, the 2d Aviation Company, of the 2d Infantry Division, which had been the first helicopter unit in Korea, returned to Fort Lewis with observation/spotter aircraft L-19 Bird Dogs, and L-20 Beavers, as well as H-23 Raven helicopters.