Nonstop flight route between Alpe d'Huez, France and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ), Alpe d'Huez, France and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,341 miles (or 8,596 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 Alpe d'Huez 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 Alpe d'Huez 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 Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ):

• The closest airport to Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ) is Méribel Airport (MFX), which is located 33 miles (52 kilometers) NE of AHZ.
• Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Alpe d'Huez Airport (AHZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Alpe d'Huez Airport (meaning Alpe d'Huez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,283 miles (19,768 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Alpe d'Huez Airport", another name for AHZ is "L'altiport de l'Alpe d'Huez".
• Because of Alpe d'Huez Airport's high elevation of 6,037 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AHZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AHZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• In 1945 McChord was designated as a permanent station by the Army Air Forces.
• 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 62d Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McChord Field.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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.
• Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the 17th Bombardment Group flew anti-submarine patrols off the west coast of the United States with the new North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
• 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.
• On 6 October 1949, the 62nd received its first four-engine Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport.