Nonstop flight route between Kitadaito, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kitadaito Airport (KTD), Kitadaito, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,622 miles (or 9,048 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 Kitadaito Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB, 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 Kitadaito Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Kitadaito Airport (KTD):

• The closest airport to Kitadaito Airport (KTD) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) SSW of KTD.
• The furthest airport from Kitadaito Airport (KTD) is Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport (JOI), which is nearly antipodal to Kitadaito Airport (meaning Kitadaito Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport), and is located 12,416 miles (19,982 kilometers) away in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Kitadaito Airport", other names for KTD include "北大東空港" and "Kitadaitō Kūkō".
• Kitadaito Airport was opened in 1971 as an emergency 760 meter airstrip, constructed of crushed coral by the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands.
• Kitadaito Airport (KTD) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kitadaito Airport's relatively low elevation of 71 feet, planes can take off or land at Kitadaito 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.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,803 miles (17,386 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SW of TCM.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• The 62d Airlift Wing is the host unit at McChord Field.
• The base was the location of the first of twenty-eight stations built by ADC as part of the permanent air defense radar network, and was the top-priority site for ADC radars.
• The McChord Air Force Base facility was consolidated with the United States Army Fort Lewis on 1 February 2010 to become part of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord complex.
• Nearly all new heavy bomb groups organized after Pearl Harbor were organized and trained at Second Air Force Bases, by II Bomber Command operational training units then were deployed to combat commands around the world.
• Because of McChord Field/McChord AFB's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at McChord Field/McChord AFB 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.
• During the International Geophysical Year 1957–1958, and subsequently through 1962 the 62d TCW supported scientific stations in the Arctic Ocean by airlanding and airdropping supplies on the drifting ice.