Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to DUR:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- DUR Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about DUR
- 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 DUR
- List of Nearest Airports to DUR
- Map of Furthest Airports from DUR
- List of Furthest Airports from DUR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and King Shaka International (DUR), Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,585 miles (or 17,035 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 King Shaka International, 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 King Shaka International. 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: | DUR / FALE |
Airport Name: | King Shaka International |
Location: | Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°37'0"S by 31°6'29"E |
Area Served: | Durban, South Africa |
Operator/Owner: | Dube Tradeport Company |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 295 feet (90 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from DUR |
More Information: | DUR Maps & Info |
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
- 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.
- 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 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 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 Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- Gray Army Airfield, also known as Gray AAF, is a military airfield located within Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, in Pierce County, Washington, United States.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
Facts about King Shaka International (DUR):
- King Shaka International (DUR) currently has only 1 runway.
- On 8 December 2009, it was reported that "King Shaka International Airport" was indeed the most popular name for the new airport.
- The furthest airport from King Shaka International (DUR) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,682 miles (18,801 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- Neighbouring communities are Tongaat to the north-west, Verulam to the south-west, and Umdloti to the south-east.
- The closest airport to King Shaka International (DUR) is Pietermaritzburg Airport (PZB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) W of DUR.
- Because of King Shaka International's relatively low elevation of 295 feet, planes can take off or land at King Shaka International 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 Old Durban airport used to have flights to Singapore, Ethiopia, London, Egypt, Persian Gulf and India.
- The project was then hit by a tender war between the Illembe consortium and the Indiza consortium.
- On 27 January 2014 the worlds largest passenger aircraft, an Airbus A380-800 of British Airways landed at KSIA becoming the first A380 to do so.