Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kivalina, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kivalina Airport (KVL), Kivalina, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,044 miles (or 3,290 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 relatively short distance between McChord Field/McChord AFB and Kivalina Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• The ADC radar site was deactivated 1 April 1960 and repositioned to Fort Lawton AFS where the Air Force consolidated its anti-aircraft radars with the United States Army Seattle Defense Area Army Air-Defense Command Post S-90DC for Nike missile operations.
• Today, the successor organization to the 25th AD, the Western Air Defense Sector, is a major tenant organization at McChord, being one of two air defense sectors responsible for the security and integrity of continental United States air space.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• Other wing components are the 62d Maintenance Group, 62d Mission Support Group and 62d Medical Squadron.
• 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.
• On 1 August 1946, McChord was assigned to the new Air Defense Command, with a mission of air defense of the United States.
• 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 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 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.

Facts about Kivalina Airport (KVL):

• The furthest airport from Kivalina Airport (KVL) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,364 miles (16,679 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• Kivalina Airport (KVL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kivalina Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Kivalina 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 closest airport to Kivalina Airport (KVL) is Noatak Airport (WTK), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) ESE of KVL.