Nonstop flight route between Alamosa, Colorado, United States and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from ALS to TCM:
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- About this route
- ALS Airport Information
- TCM Airport Information
- Facts about ALS
- Facts about TCM
- Map of Nearest Airports to ALS
- List of Nearest Airports to ALS
- Map of Furthest Airports from ALS
- List of Furthest Airports from ALS
- Map of Nearest Airports to TCM
- List of Nearest Airports to TCM
- Map of Furthest Airports from TCM
- List of Furthest Airports from TCM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS), Alamosa, Colorado, United States and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,078 miles (or 1,735 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 relatively short distance between San Luis Valley Regional Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | ALS / KALS |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Alamosa, Colorado, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°26'6"N by 105°51'59"W |
| Area Served: | Alamosa, Colorado |
| Operator/Owner: | City and County of Alamosa |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 7539 feet (2,298 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from ALS |
| More Information: | ALS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | TCM / KTCM |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 47°8'16"N by 122°28'35"W |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
| Airport Type: | Military: Air Force Base |
| Elevation: | 322 feet (98 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from TCM |
| More Information: | TCM Maps & Info |
Facts about San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS):
- In addition to being known as "San Luis Valley Regional Airport", another name for ALS is "Bergman Field".
- San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS) is Stevens Field (FAA: PSO) (PGO), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) W of ALS.
- The airport covers 1,700 acres at an elevation of 7,539 feet.
- Because of San Luis Valley Regional Airport's high elevation of 7,539 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ALS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ALS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,054 miles (17,790 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):
- 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.
- 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)".
- Other wing components are the 62d Maintenance Group, 62d Mission Support Group and 62d Medical Squadron.
- 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.
- Part of Air Mobility Command
- In 1947 Tactical Air Command moved the 62d Troop Carrier Group to McChord Field from Bergstrom Field, Texas.
- The 325th Fighter Group operated two squadrons of F-82F Twin Mustangs from McChord between 1948 and 1950, the first postwar fighter optimized for the air defense interceptor mission.
- McChord also had large maintenance facilities for Air Technical Service Command during the war, serving served as a P-39 Aircobra modification center April 1944 – May 1945 for lend-lease aircraft being sent to Russia via the Alaska Territory.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
