Nonstop flight route between Portland, Oregon, United States and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from PDX to TCM:
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- About this route
- PDX Airport Information
- TCM Airport Information
- Facts about PDX
- Facts about TCM
- Map of Nearest Airports to PDX
- List of Nearest Airports to PDX
- Map of Furthest Airports from PDX
- List of Furthest Airports from PDX
- 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 Portland International Airport (PDX), Portland, Oregon, United States and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 107 miles (or 173 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 Portland International 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: | PDX / KPDX |
Airport Name: | Portland International Airport |
Location: | Portland, Oregon, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 45°35'18"N by 122°35'50"W |
Area Served: | Portland metropolitan area |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 30 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from PDX |
More Information: | PDX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | TCM / KTCM |
Airport Names: |
|
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 Portland International Airport (PDX):
- A new terminal opened in 1959, which for the most part serves as the present facility.
- Because of Portland International Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland International 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.
- PDX has direct connections to major airport hubs throughout the United States, plus non-stop international flights to Canada, Japan, and the Netherlands.
- Portland's main airport has been in two other incarnations.
- The furthest airport from Portland International Airport (PDX) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,903 miles (17,546 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The April 1957 OAG shows 38 United departures a day, 10 West Coast, 8 Northwest and 6 Western.
- The closest airport to Portland International Airport (PDX) is Portland-Troutdale Airport (TTD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ESE of PDX.
- Portland International Airport (PDX) has 3 runways.
- Portland International Airport is a joint civil-military airport and the largest airport in the U.S.
- In 1948 the entire airport grounds were flooded during the Vanport Flood, forcing scheduled airline services to reroute to nearby Troutdale Airport.
- Portland International Airport handled 1,502,956 passengers last year.
Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- McChord Field is a United States Air Force base in Pierce County, Washington, United States.
- 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.
- 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.
- In 1991, Clark Air Base in the Philippines was evacuated due to the eruption of Mount Pinatubo.
- McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.