Nonstop flight route between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Tacoma, Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SDU to TCM:
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- About this route
- SDU Airport Information
- TCM Airport Information
- Facts about SDU
- Facts about TCM
- Map of Nearest Airports to SDU
- List of Nearest Airports to SDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from SDU
- List of Furthest Airports from SDU
- 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 Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,891 miles (or 11,090 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 Santos Dumont 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 Santos Dumont 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SDU / SBRJ |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| GPS Coordinates: | 22°54'37"S by 43°9'46"W |
| Area Served: | Rio de Janeiro |
| Operator/Owner: | Infraero |
| Airport Type: | Public/Military |
| Elevation: | 11 feet (3 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SDU |
| More Information: | SDU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | TCM / KTCM |
| Airport Names: |
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| 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 Santos Dumont Airport (SDU):
- Because of Santos Dumont Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Santos Dumont 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.
- On 21 May 1959 a formal agreement between Varig, Cruzeiro do Sul, and VASP created an air shuttle service, the first of its kind in the world.
- With the gradual shift of international operations to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Airport opened in 1952, Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont lost its place as an international hub, but for many years retained its position of a major hub for domestic traffic, particularly until 1960, when the capital of Brazil was moved to Brasília.
- Real Auto Ônibus operates executive bus 2018, that runs half-hourly from the airport to the Central Bus Station and Galeão International Airport in one direction, and in the opposite direction to the southern parts of the city along the shore, with its final stop at Alvorada Bus Terminal in Barra da Tijuca.
- The furthest airport from Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Santos Dumont Airport (meaning Santos Dumont Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,125 miles (19,513 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
- Santos Dumont Airport handled 9,204,603 passengers last year.
- In 1934, in order to handle a growing amount of land operations, land was reclaimed from the sea to create the first runway of the airport with a length of 1,300 feet.
- On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL152.2 million investment plan to upgrade Santos Dumont Airport, particularly the passenger arrivals terminal.
- Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Santos Dumont Airport", another name for SDU is "Aeroporto Santos Dumont".
- The closest airport to Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NW of SDU.
Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (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.
- McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- Today, the successor organization to the 25th AD, the Western Air Defense Sector, is a major tenant organization at McChord, being one of two air defense sectors responsible for the security and integrity of continental United States air space.
- In 1945 McChord was designated as a permanent station by the Army Air Forces.
- In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
- In 1917, the citizens of Pierce County, Washington approved a bond measure for $2,000,000 to buy 70,000 acres of land to be donated to the Federal Government for use as a military reservation.
- 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.
- 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.
