Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Nikolai, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from TCM to NIB:
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- About this route
- TCM Airport Information
- NIB Airport Information
- Facts about TCM
- Facts about NIB
- Map of Nearest Airports to TCM
- List of Nearest Airports to TCM
- Map of Furthest Airports from TCM
- List of Furthest Airports from TCM
- Map of Nearest Airports to NIB
- List of Nearest Airports to NIB
- Map of Furthest Airports from NIB
- List of Furthest Airports from NIB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Nikolai Airport (NIB), Nikolai, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,641 miles (or 2,641 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 Nikolai Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | TCM / KTCM |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°8'16"N by 122°28'35"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military: Air Force Base |
Elevation: | 322 feet (98 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from TCM |
More Information: | TCM Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NIB / PAFS |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Nikolai, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 63°1'6"N by 154°21'29"W |
Area Served: | Nikolai, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF - Central Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 441 feet (134 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from NIB |
More Information: | NIB Maps & Info |
Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):
- 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.
- McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
- 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)".
- 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.
- McChord Field is a United States Air Force base in Pierce County, Washington, 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.
- In 1945 McChord was designated as a permanent station by the Army Air Forces.
Facts about Nikolai Airport (NIB):
- The closest airport to Nikolai Airport (NIB) is McGrath Airport (MCG), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) W of NIB.
- In addition to being known as "Nikolai Airport", other names for NIB include "FSP" and "Nikolai".
- The furthest airport from Nikolai Airport (NIB) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,431 miles (16,787 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- Nikolai Airport (NIB) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Nikolai Airport's relatively low elevation of 441 feet, planes can take off or land at Nikolai 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.