Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Balkhash, Kazakhstan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Balqash Airport (BXH), Balkhash, Kazakhstan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,855 miles (or 9,422 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 Balqash 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 Balqash 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):

• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• On 1 August 1946, McChord was assigned to the new Air Defense Command, with a mission of air defense of the United States.
• 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.
• 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.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• 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 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.
• On 6 October 1949, the 62nd received its first four-engine Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport.
• 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 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.

Facts about Balqash Airport (BXH):

• Balqash Airport (BXH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Military aircraft are also based there.
• The length of runway is 2,502 m × 40 m.
• In addition to being known as "Balqash Airport", another name for BXH is "Аэропорт Балхаш".
• The furthest airport from Balqash Airport (BXH) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,053 miles (17,787 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Balkhash Airport or Balqash Airport is an airport 6 km northeast the city of Balqash in Kazakhstan.
• The closest airport to Balqash Airport (BXH) is Sary-Arka Airport (KGF), which is located 207 miles (333 kilometers) NNW of BXH.