Nonstop flight route between Ikela, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ikela Airport (IKL), Ikela, Democratic Republic of the Congo and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,656 miles (or 13,930 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 Ikela 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 Ikela 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 Ikela Airport (IKL):

• The furthest airport from Ikela Airport (IKL) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Ikela Airport (meaning Ikela Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,367 miles (19,903 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Ikela Airport (IKL) is Lodja Airport (LJA), which is located 152 miles (245 kilometers) S of IKL.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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.
• The McChord Air Force Base facility was consolidated with the United States Army Fort Lewis on 1 February 2010 to become part of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord complex.
• Nearly all new heavy bomb groups organized after Pearl Harbor were organized and trained at Second Air Force Bases, by II Bomber Command operational training units then were deployed to combat commands around the world.
• 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.
• 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 62d Airlift Wing is the host unit at McChord Field.
• 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.