Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from IWS to TCM:
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- About this route
- IWS Airport Information
- TCM Airport Information
- Facts about IWS
- Facts about TCM
- Map of Nearest Airports to IWS
- List of Nearest Airports to IWS
- Map of Furthest Airports from IWS
- List of Furthest Airports from IWS
- 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 West Houston Airport (IWS), Houston, Texas, United States and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,863 miles (or 2,999 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 West Houston 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: | IWS / KIWS |
| Airport Name: | West Houston Airport |
| Location: | Houston, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 29°49'5"N by 95°40'20"W |
| Area Served: | Houston, Texas |
| Operator/Owner: | West Houston Airport Corp. |
| Airport Type: | Public use |
| Elevation: | 111 feet (34 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from IWS |
| More Information: | IWS 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 West Houston Airport (IWS):
- Because of West Houston Airport's relatively low elevation of 111 feet, planes can take off or land at West Houston 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.
- West Houston Airport (IWS) currently has only 1 runway.
- West Houston Airport offers a variety of services, including a VIP lounge with free Wi-Fi, hangars, and airplane covers.
- The closest airport to West Houston Airport (IWS) is Andrau Airpark (AAP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) SE of IWS.
- The furthest airport from West Houston Airport (IWS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,979 miles (17,668 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
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 1947 Tactical Air Command moved the 62d Troop Carrier Group to McChord Field from Bergstrom Field, Texas.
- SeADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the SAGE headquarters combat center came under the 25th Air Division.
- 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.
- On 1 August 1946, McChord was assigned to the new Air Defense Command, with a mission of air defense of the United States.
- 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.
- McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
- McChord also had large maintenance facilities for Air Technical Service Command during the war, serving served as a P-39 Aircobra modification center April 1944 – May 1945 for lend-lease aircraft being sent to Russia via the Alaska Territory.
- On 28 February 1938 the airfield was officially transferred to the United States Government.
