Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ), Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,223 miles (or 8,405 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 Alejandro Velasco Astete International 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 Alejandro Velasco Astete International 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• With the departure of the 17th Bomb Group, the mission of McChord Field became supporting the Army Air Forces Training Command's mission of training of units, crews, and individuals for bombardment, fighter, and reconnaissance operations.
• 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.
• In 1947 Tactical Air Command moved the 62d Troop Carrier Group to McChord Field from Bergstrom Field, Texas.
• 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.
• 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.
• Starting in mid-1943 the training of B-17 and B-24 replacement crews began to be phased out, as the Second Air Force began ramping up training of B-29 Superfortress Very Heavy bomb groups, destined for Twentieth Air Force.
• Following the end of the war in Europe, McChord redeployed thousands of troops arriving from the European theater to the Pacific as part of Air Transport Command.

Facts about Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ):

• On August 9, 1970, LANSA Flight 502, a four-engine engine Lockheed L-188A Electra turboprop, crashed shortly after takeoff from the Cusco airport, killing 99 of the 100 people on board, plus two people on the ground, in the deadliest accident in Peru's aviation history to that date.
• Previously, the airport was served by American Airlines on a JFK-LIM-CUZ-LIM-JFK routing in the late 90s using Boeing 757-200 aircraft.
• Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport", another name for CUZ is "Aeropuerto Internacional Alejandro Velasco Astete".
• The furthest airport from Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) is Buon Ma Thuot Airport (BMV), which is nearly antipodal to Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (meaning Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Buon Ma Thuot Airport), and is located 12,377 miles (19,918 kilometers) away in Buon Me Thuot, Vietnam.
• The closest airport to Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) is Andahuaylas Airport (ANS), which is located 95 miles (154 kilometers) W of CUZ.
• Because of Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport's high elevation of 10,860 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CUZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CUZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.