Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Palmdale, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from TCM to PMD:
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- About this route
- TCM Airport Information
- PMD Airport Information
- Facts about TCM
- Facts about PMD
- 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 PMD
- List of Nearest Airports to PMD
- Map of Furthest Airports from PMD
- List of Furthest Airports from PMD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), Palmdale, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 894 miles (or 1,438 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 Palmdale Regional 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: | PMD / KPMD |
Airport Name: | Palmdale Regional Airport |
Location: | Palmdale, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°37'45"N by 118°5'3"W |
Area Served: | Palmdale, California |
Airport Type: | Public/Military (Joint Use) |
Elevation: | 2543 feet (775 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from PMD |
More Information: | PMD Maps & Info |
Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):
- McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- 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.
- Part of Air Mobility Command
- 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 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)".
- SeADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the SAGE headquarters combat center came under the 25th Air Division.
- 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.
Facts about Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD):
- On September 3, 2008 the San Francisco service was increased from two 50-seat regional jets to four 30-seat turboprop flights per day.
- Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is General Wm. J. Fox Airfield (WJF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NW of PMD.
- The airport covers 5,832 acres at an elevation of 2,543 feet above mean sea level.
- The furthest airport from Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- In February 2007 the city of Palmdale and LAWA selected United Airlines to provide service between Palmdale and San Francisco International Airport.
- Palmdale Army Airfield was declared a surplus facility in 1946 and was purchased by Los Angeles County for use as a municipal airport.
- In 1989, Los Angeles World Airports, a department of the City of Los Angeles, and the U.S.