Nonstop flight route between Terre-de-Haut Island, Les Saintes, Guadeloupe and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Les Saintes Airport (LSS), Terre-de-Haut Island, Les Saintes, Guadeloupe and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,060 miles (or 6,534 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 Les Saintes 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 Les Saintes 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 Les Saintes Airport (LSS):

• The closest airport to Les Saintes Airport (LSS) is Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet Airport (PTP), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) N of LSS.
• Les Saintes Airport (LSS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Les Saintes Airport (LSS) is Broome International Airport (BME), which is nearly antipodal to Les Saintes Airport (meaning Les Saintes Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Broome International Airport), and is located 12,147 miles (19,548 kilometers) away in Broome, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Les Saintes Airport", another name for LSS is "Aérodrome de Terre-de-Haut".
• Because of Les Saintes Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Les Saintes 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):

• 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.
• 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)".
• 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.
• Today, the successor organization to the 25th AD, the Western Air Defense Sector, is a major tenant organization at McChord, being one of two air defense sectors responsible for the security and integrity of continental United States air space.
• The McChord Air Museum features exhibits about McChord Field and a collection of restored military aircraft.
• 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.
• Starting in mid-1943 the training of B-17 and B-24 replacement crews began to be phased out, as the Second Air Force began ramping up training of B-29 Superfortress Very Heavy bomb groups, destined for Twentieth Air Force.
• In 1940 McChord Field became the headquarters of the GHQ Air Force Northwest Air District, with a mission for the defense of the Pacific Northwest and Upper Great Plains regions of the United States.
• In 1945 McChord was designated as a permanent station by the Army Air Forces.
• The 62d Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McChord Field.