Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Flores Island, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Flores Airport (FLW), Flores Island, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,355 miles (or 7,009 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 Flores 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 Flores 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 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.
• The 62d Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McChord Field.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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.
• On 6 October 1949, the 62nd received its first four-engine Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport.
• 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.

Facts about Flores Airport (FLW):

• Flores Airport handled 45,122 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Flores Airport", another name for FLW is "Aeroporto das Flores".
• On 11 January 2013, a tender was issued by ANA Aeroportos to improve the accessbility within the airport, with installation of lifts, escalators and mechanical walkways, to be installed within the intervening five years.
• The closest airport to Flores Airport (FLW) is Corvo Airport (CVU), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) N of FLW.
• Flores Airport (FLW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Flores Airport (FLW) is Flinders Island Airport (FLS), which is nearly antipodal to Flores Airport (meaning Flores Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flinders Island Airport), and is located 12,373 miles (19,912 kilometers) away in Flinders Island, Tasmania, Australia.
• Because of Flores Airport's relatively low elevation of 108 feet, planes can take off or land at Flores 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.
• Flores Airport is a regional airport on the island of Flores in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores.