Nonstop flight route between Mercury, Nevada, United States and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DRA to TCM:
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- About this route
- DRA Airport Information
- TCM Airport Information
- Facts about DRA
- Facts about TCM
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRA
- List of Nearest Airports to DRA
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRA
- List of Furthest Airports from DRA
- 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 Desert Rock Airport (DRA), Mercury, Nevada, United States and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 798 miles (or 1,284 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 Desert Rock 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: | DRA / KDRA |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Mercury, Nevada, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 36°37'9"N by 116°1'58"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Mercury, Nevada |
| Airport Type: | United States Department of Energy/Nevada |
| Elevation: | 1010 feet (308 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DRA |
| More Information: | DRA 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 Desert Rock Airport (DRA):
- The closest airport to Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Creech Air Force Base Indian Springs Auxiliary Army Airfield (1961) Indian Springs Air Force Base (1951) Indian Springs Army Airfield Indian Springs Airport eponyms: Indian Springs, Nevada &Wilbur L. Creech[1] (INS), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of DRA.
- The furthest airport from Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,271 miles (18,139 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Desert Rock Airport (DRA) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Desert Rock Airport", another name for DRA is "NV65".
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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- SeADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the SAGE headquarters combat center came under the 25th Air Division.
- The 62nd Troop Carrier Wing was reassigned to the Military Air Transport Service Continental Division on 1 July 1957 as TAC realigned its transport units.
- With the departure of the 17th Bomb Group, the mission of McChord Field became supporting the Army Air Forces Training Command's mission of training of units, crews, and individuals for bombardment, fighter, and reconnaissance operations.
