Nonstop flight route between Besançon / La Vèze, France and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Besançon - La Vèze Aerodrome (QBQ), Besançon / La Vèze, France and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,219 miles (or 8,399 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 Besançon - La Vèze Aerodrome 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 Besançon - La Vèze Aerodrome 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 Besançon - La Vèze Aerodrome (QBQ):

• In addition to being known as "Besançon - La Vèze Aerodrome", another name for QBQ is "Aérodrome de Besançon - La Vèze".
• The closest airport to Besançon - La Vèze Aerodrome (QBQ) is Dole - Jura Airport (DLE), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) WSW of QBQ.
• Besançon - La Vèze Aerodrome (QBQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Besançon - La Vèze Aerodrome (QBQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Besançon - La Vèze Aerodrome (meaning Besançon - La Vèze Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,172 miles (19,589 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

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.
• On 6 October 1949, the 62nd received its first four-engine Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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)".
• In 1945 McChord was designated as a permanent station by the Army Air Forces.
• 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 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 ADC radar site was deactivated 1 April 1960 and repositioned to Fort Lawton AFS where the Air Force consolidated its anti-aircraft radars with the United States Army Seattle Defense Area Army Air-Defense Command Post S-90DC for Nike missile operations.