Nonstop flight route between Gotō, Nagasaki, Japan and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fukue Airport (FUJ), Gotō, Nagasaki, Japan and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,372 miles (or 8,646 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 Fukue 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 Fukue 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 Fukue Airport (FUJ):

• The closest airport to Fukue Airport (FUJ) is Nagasaki Airport (NGS), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) ENE of FUJ.
• The furthest airport from Fukue Airport (FUJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Fukue Airport (meaning Fukue Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,366 miles (19,901 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Fukue Airport", other names for FUJ include "Gotō-Fukue Airport", "福江空港" and "Fukue Kūkō".
• Fukue Airport (FUJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Fukue Airport's relatively low elevation of 251 feet, planes can take off or land at Fukue 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):

• 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.
• Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the 17th Bombardment Group flew anti-submarine patrols off the west coast of the United States with the new North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
• 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.
• 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.
• Other wing components are the 62d Maintenance Group, 62d Mission Support Group and 62d Medical Squadron.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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.