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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Bristol Airport (BRS), Bristol, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,752 miles (or 7,648 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 McChord Field/McChord AFB and Bristol Airport, 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 McChord Field/McChord AFB and Bristol Airport. 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 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.
• 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 62d Airlift Wing is the host unit at McChord Field.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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 1958, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center, and Combat Center was established at McChord.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Bristol Airport (BRS):

• Bristol Airport (BRS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Whitchurch airport continued to be used after World War II, but the introduction of heavier post-war airliners made a runway extension highly desirable.
• In March 2010, the airport was rebranded as Bristol Airport.
• The closest airport to Bristol Airport (BRS) is Bristol Filton Airport (FZO), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NNE of BRS.
• Because of Bristol Airport's relatively low elevation of 622 feet, planes can take off or land at Bristol 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.
• The furthest airport from Bristol Airport (BRS) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,941 miles (19,217 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The Airports Act 1986 required every municipal airport with a turnover greater than £1 million to be turned into a public limited company.
• Bristol Airport handled 6,131,896 passengers last year.
• By 1942, there was no longer a need for an additional fighter airfield.