Nonstop flight route between Lasham, England, United Kingdom and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lasham Airfield (QLA), Lasham, England, United Kingdom and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,808 miles (or 7,738 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 Lasham Airfield 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 Lasham Airfield 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 Lasham Airfield (QLA):

• In the 1960s the Space Department of the Royal Aircraft Establishment with its HQ at Farnborough, sited a number of satellite tracking and receiving dish aerials on the south side of Lasham airfield, one enclosed in a large white dome.
• In 1954 Dan-Air established a subsidiary, Dan-Air Engineering, at Lasham Airfield to service its own fleet and aircraft belonging to other operators.
• Because of Lasham Airfield's relatively low elevation of 618 feet, planes can take off or land at Lasham Airfield 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 airfield is now owned by the largest British gliding club, also one of the world's largest, Lasham Gliding Society.
• The closest airport to Lasham Airfield (QLA) is RAF Odiham (ODH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NE of QLA.
• In 1999, Lasham Gliding Society completed the purchase from the Ministry of Defence of the freehold to the airfield, making the final payment in 2001.
• The furthest airport from Lasham Airfield (QLA) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,896 miles (19,145 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• A notable operation was by 613 Squadron.
• Lasham Airfield (QLA) currently has only 1 runway.
• On the nights preceding and following D-Day, the Mosquitos of 305 and 613 squadrons carried out low level attacks on enemy supply lines and armoured positions in Normandy to assist the allied landing forces.
• The club uses two Skylaunch winches, normally delivering launch heights of 1500 ft and over 2000 ft in strong winds.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• During 1952 and 1953, the 62nd airlifted troops, blood plasma, aircraft parts, ammunition, medical supplies, and much more, to the Far East, in support of the war in Korea.
• 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.