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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kagoshima Airport (KOJ), Kagoshima, Japan and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,344 miles (or 8,600 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 Kagoshima 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 Kagoshima 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 Kagoshima Airport (KOJ):

• In addition to being known as "Kagoshima Airport", other names for KOJ include "鹿児島空港" and "Kagoshima Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Kagoshima Airport (KOJ) is Miyazaki Airport (KMI), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) E of KOJ.
• Because of Kagoshima Airport's relatively low elevation of 892 feet, planes can take off or land at Kagoshima 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.
• The furthest airport from Kagoshima Airport (KOJ) is Salgado Filho International Airport (POA), which is nearly antipodal to Kagoshima Airport (meaning Kagoshima Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salgado Filho International Airport), and is located 12,269 miles (19,745 kilometers) away in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
• Kagoshima Airport (KOJ) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• In 1958, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center, and Combat Center was established at McChord.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• McChord Field is a United States Air Force base in Pierce County, Washington, United States.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• On 1 August 1946, McChord was assigned to the new Air Defense Command, with a mission of air defense of the United States.
• 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.
• 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 1968, McChord AFB was relieved of its assignment to the subsequently renamed Aerospace Defense Command and was reassigned to Military Airlift Command as one of three MAC bases in the western United States operating the C-141 Starlifter.
• 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.
• 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.