Nonstop flight route between Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ), Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,851 miles (or 4,588 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 Quetzaltenango 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 Quetzaltenango 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 Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ):

• An emergency operations center has been installed at the airport in order to respond faster to disasters like hurricane Stan in the future.
• The closest airport to Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ) is Quiché Airport (AQB), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) ENE of AAZ.
• On 1 November 1998 a Douglas DC-3 carrying 18 crew and passengers crashed near the airport into mountainous terrain.
• On 13 October 1999 a private Bell 206 helicopter crashed near Quetzaltenango.
• Because of Quetzaltenango Airport's high elevation of 7,779 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AAZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AAZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• Starting in mid-1943 the training of B-17 and B-24 replacement crews began to be phased out, as the Second Air Force began ramping up training of B-29 Superfortress Very Heavy bomb groups, destined for Twentieth Air Force.
• SeADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the SAGE headquarters combat center came under the 25th Air Division.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Today, the successor organization to the 25th AD, the Western Air Defense Sector, is a major tenant organization at McChord, being one of two air defense sectors responsible for the security and integrity of continental United States air space.
• Other wing components are the 62d Maintenance Group, 62d Mission Support Group and 62d Medical Squadron.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.