Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Macará, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR), Macará, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,398 miles (or 7,078 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 José María Velasco Ibarra 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 José María Velasco Ibarra 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):

• In 1917, the citizens of Pierce County, Washington approved a bond measure for $2,000,000 to buy 70,000 acres of land to be donated to the Federal Government for use as a military reservation.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• The McChord Air Force Base facility was consolidated with the United States Army Fort Lewis on 1 February 2010 to become part of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord complex.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• During the International Geophysical Year 1957–1958, and subsequently through 1962 the 62d TCW supported scientific stations in the Arctic Ocean by airlanding and airdropping supplies on the drifting ice.
• 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 base was the location of the first of twenty-eight stations built by ADC as part of the permanent air defense radar network, and was the top-priority site for ADC radars.

Facts about José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR):

• In addition to being known as "José María Velasco Ibarra Airport", another name for MRR is "Aeropuerto J.M. Velasco Ibarra".
• The furthest airport from José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR) is Sitiawan Airport (SWY), which is nearly antipodal to José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (meaning José María Velasco Ibarra Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sitiawan Airport), and is located 12,391 miles (19,942 kilometers) away in Perak, Malaysia.
• The closest airport to José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR) is Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport (LOH), which is located 47 miles (76 kilometers) NE of MRR.