Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Karratha Airport (KTA), Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,690 miles (or 13,985 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 Karratha 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 Karratha 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 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.
• In 1968, McChord AFB was relieved of its assignment to the subsequently renamed Aerospace Defense Command and was reassigned to Military Airlift Command as one of three MAC bases in the western United States operating the C-141 Starlifter.
• 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.
• SeADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the SAGE headquarters combat center came under the 25th Air Division.
• 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.
• Other wing components are the 62d Maintenance Group, 62d Mission Support Group and 62d Medical Squadron.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.

Facts about Karratha Airport (KTA):

• The closest airport to Karratha Airport (KTA) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is located 89 miles (143 kilometers) W of KTA.
• The furthest airport from Karratha Airport (KTA) is Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport (AXA), which is nearly antipodal to Karratha Airport (meaning Karratha Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport), and is located 12,263 miles (19,736 kilometers) away in The Valley, Anguilla.
• Karratha Airport handled 675,207 passengers last year.
• Karratha Airport (KTA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Karratha Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Karratha 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.