Nonstop flight route between Sangapi, Papua New Guinea and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sangapi Airport (SGK), Sangapi, Papua New Guinea and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,628 miles (or 10,667 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 Sangapi 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 Sangapi 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 Sangapi Airport (SGK):

• In addition to being known as "Sangapi Airport", other names for SGK include "AYSK" and "SNI".
• The furthest airport from Sangapi Airport (SGK) is Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR), which is located 11,791 miles (18,976 kilometers) away in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Sangapi Airport (SGK) is Aiome Airport (AIE), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) E of SGK.

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.
• In 1968, McChord AFB was relieved of its assignment to the subsequently renamed Aerospace Defense Command and was reassigned to Military Airlift Command as one of three MAC bases in the western United States operating the C-141 Starlifter.
• Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the 17th Bombardment Group flew anti-submarine patrols off the west coast of the United States with the new North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
• 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 62d Airlift Wing is the host unit at McChord Field.
• 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/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• The 325th Fighter Group operated two squadrons of F-82F Twin Mustangs from McChord between 1948 and 1950, the first postwar fighter optimized for the air defense interceptor mission.
• SeADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the SAGE headquarters combat center came under the 25th Air Division.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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.