Nonstop flight route between Sumbawanga, Tanzania and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sumbawanga Airport (SUT), Sumbawanga, Tanzania and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,329 miles (or 15,013 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 Sumbawanga 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 Sumbawanga 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 Sumbawanga Airport (SUT):

• Sumbawanga Airport handled 806 passengers last year.
• Because of Sumbawanga Airport's high elevation of 5,920 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SUT. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SUT a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Sumbawanga Airport (SUT) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Sumbawanga Airport", another name for SUT is "Uwanja wa Ndege wa Sumbawanga  (Swahili)".
• The furthest airport from Sumbawanga Airport (SUT) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,695 miles (18,822 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Sumbawanga Airport (SUT) is Mbala Airport (MMQ), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) SSW of SUT.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• Part of Air Mobility Command
• 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 1947 Tactical Air Command moved the 62d Troop Carrier Group to McChord Field from Bergstrom Field, Texas.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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.
• Nearly all new heavy bomb groups organized after Pearl Harbor were organized and trained at Second Air Force Bases, by II Bomber Command operational training units then were deployed to combat commands around the world.
• 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.