Nonstop flight route between Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Belmont Airport (BEO), Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,672 miles (or 12,346 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 Belmont 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 Belmont 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 Belmont Airport (BEO):

• Belmont Airport (BEO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Under current guidelines, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has classified Belmont as an Aircraft Landing Area as due to land constraints the site infrastructure does not meet the dimensions required to operate as a registered airport, placing some restriction on future uses for commercial passenger flights.
• The closest airport to Belmont Airport (BEO) is Newcastle Airport (NTL), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) NNE of BEO.
• Because of Belmont Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Belmont 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.
• In 2013, a consortium represented by Newcastle Helicopters and Red Bull Air Race pilot Matt Hall were reported as being close to closing a deal with Mirvac to purchase the airport, however backed out of negotiations before the deal could be finalised.
• The furthest airport from Belmont Airport (BEO) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Belmont Airport (meaning Belmont Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,112 miles (19,493 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.

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.
• 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.
• The 62d Airlift Wing is the host unit at McChord Field.
• On 6 October 1949, the 62nd received its first four-engine Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• The base was the location of the first of twenty-eight stations built by ADC as part of the permanent air defense radar network, and was the top-priority site for ADC radars.
• 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.