Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Lorraine, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ), Lorraine, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,121 miles (or 8,241 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 Metz–Nancy–Lorraine 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 Metz–Nancy–Lorraine 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):

• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• On 1 August 1946, McChord was assigned to the new Air Defense Command, with a mission of air defense of the United States.
• The 62d Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McChord Field.
• 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.
• On 6 October 1949, the 62nd received its first four-engine Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport.
• Part of Air Mobility Command
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".

Facts about Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ):

• Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport's relatively low elevation of 870 feet, planes can take off or land at Metz–Nancy–Lorraine 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 Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (meaning Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,057 miles (19,404 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ) is Saarbrücken Airport (SCN), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) ENE of ETZ.
• In addition to being known as "Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport", another name for ETZ is "Aéroport de Metz-Nancy-Lorraine".