Nonstop flight route between Pilanesberg, South Africa and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pilanesberg International Airport (NTY), Pilanesberg, South Africa and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,197 miles (or 16,411 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 Pilanesberg International 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 Pilanesberg International 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 Pilanesberg International Airport (NTY):

• The closest airport to Pilanesberg International Airport (NTY) is Lanseria International Airport (HLA), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) SE of NTY.
• Pilanesberg International Airport (NTY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Pilanesberg International Airport (NTY) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is nearly antipodal to Pilanesberg International Airport (meaning Pilanesberg International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hana Airport), and is located 12,064 miles (19,414 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.

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.
• Part of Air Mobility Command
• Following the end of the war in Europe, McChord redeployed thousands of troops arriving from the European theater to the Pacific as part of Air Transport Command.
• 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 62d Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McChord Field.
• 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 addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• SeADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the SAGE headquarters combat center came under the 25th Air Division.
• 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.
• The 62nd Troop Carrier Wing was reassigned to the Military Air Transport Service Continental Division on 1 July 1957 as TAC realigned its transport units.
• 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.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.