Nonstop flight route between Aurillac, France and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Aurillac – Tronquières Airport (AUR), Aurillac, France and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,252 miles (or 8,452 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 Aurillac – Tronquières 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 Aurillac – Tronquières 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 Aurillac – Tronquières Airport (AUR):

• The closest airport to Aurillac – Tronquières Airport (AUR) is Rodez–Aveyron Airport (RDZ), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) S of AUR.
• In addition to being known as "Aurillac – Tronquières Airport", another name for AUR is "Aéroport d'Aurillac – Tronquières".
• The furthest airport from Aurillac – Tronquières Airport (AUR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Aurillac – Tronquières Airport (meaning Aurillac – Tronquières Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,343 miles (19,865 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Aurillac – Tronquières Airport (AUR) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• Following the end of the war in Europe, McChord redeployed thousands of troops arriving from the European theater to the Pacific as part of Air Transport Command.
• In 1968, McChord AFB was relieved of its assignment to the subsequently renamed Aerospace Defense Command and was reassigned to Military Airlift Command as one of three MAC bases in the western United States operating the C-141 Starlifter.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• In 1917, the citizens of Pierce County, Washington approved a bond measure for $2,000,000 to buy 70,000 acres of land to be donated to the Federal Government for use as a military reservation.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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.
• 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.