Nonstop flight route between Alor Star, Kedah, Malaysia and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR), Alor Star, Kedah, Malaysia and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,919 miles (or 12,744 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 Sultan Abdul Halim 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 Sultan Abdul Halim 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 Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR):

• Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Sultan Abdul Halim Airport", another name for AOR is "Lapangan Terbang Sultan Abdul Halim".
• The furthest airport from Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR) is Cap. FAP José A. Quiñones González International Airport (CIX), which is nearly antipodal to Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (meaning Sultan Abdul Halim Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP José A. Quiñones González International Airport), and is located 12,393 miles (19,944 kilometers) away in Chiclayo, Peru.
• The closest airport to Sultan Abdul Halim Airport (AOR) is Langkawi International Airport (LGK), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) WNW of AOR.
• Sultan Abdul Halim Airport handled 535,073 passengers last year.
• Because of Sultan Abdul Halim Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Sultan Abdul Halim 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• The ADC radar site was deactivated 1 April 1960 and repositioned to Fort Lawton AFS where the Air Force consolidated its anti-aircraft radars with the United States Army Seattle Defense Area Army Air-Defense Command Post S-90DC for Nike missile operations.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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.