Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Middle Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to MDS:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- MDS Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about MDS
- 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 MDS
- List of Nearest Airports to MDS
- Map of Furthest Airports from MDS
- List of Furthest Airports from MDS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Middle Caicos Airport (MDS), Middle Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,301 miles (or 5,313 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 Middle Caicos 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 Middle Caicos 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: | MDS / MBMC |
Airport Name: | Middle Caicos Airport |
Location: | Middle Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 21°49'32"N by 71°48'8"W |
Area Served: | Middle Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 9 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MDS |
More Information: | MDS Maps & Info |
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- The Fort Lewis airfield housed observation planes.
- 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.
- GAAF units have served in Iraq with Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, returning from a 15 month deployment on April 17, 2004.
- Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
- 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.
- 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.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Middle Caicos Airport (MDS):
- Middle Caicos Airport (MDS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Middle Caicos Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Middle Caicos 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 furthest airport from Middle Caicos Airport (MDS) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is nearly antipodal to Middle Caicos Airport (meaning Middle Caicos Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAAF Learmonth), and is located 12,058 miles (19,406 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Middle Caicos Airport (MDS) is North Caicos Airport (NCA), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of MDS.