Nonstop flight route between Lausanne, Switzerland and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lausanne Airport (QLS), Lausanne, Switzerland and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,271 miles (or 8,483 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 Lausanne 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 Lausanne 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 Lausanne Airport (QLS):

• In addition to being known as "Lausanne Airport", another name for QLS is "Aéroport de Lausanne-Blécherette".
• The closest airport to Lausanne Airport (QLS) is Annemasse Aerodrome (QNJ), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SW of QLS.
• In May 2000 the grass runway was replaced by a paved one.
• The furthest airport from Lausanne Airport (QLS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Lausanne Airport (meaning Lausanne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,196 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Lausanne Airport (QLS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport features two maintenance hangars as well as a main building containing a restaurant.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• 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.
• During the International Geophysical Year 1957–1958, and subsequently through 1962 the 62d TCW supported scientific stations in the Arctic Ocean by airlanding and airdropping supplies on the drifting ice.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".