Nonstop flight route between Alula, Somalia and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alula Airport (ALU), Alula, Somalia and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,332 miles (or 13,409 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 Alula 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 Alula 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 Alula Airport (ALU):

• Because of Alula Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Alula 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 closest airport to Alula Airport (ALU) is Candala Airport (CXN), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ALU.
• The furthest airport from Alula Airport (ALU) is Pukarua Airport (PUK), which is located 11,759 miles (18,924 kilometers) away in Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 August 1946, McChord was assigned to the new Air Defense Command, with a mission of air defense of the United States.
• 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.
• 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 McChord Air Museum features exhibits about McChord Field and a collection of restored military aircraft.
• 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.