Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Santa Maria, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX), Santa Maria, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 852 miles (or 1,371 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 Santa Maria Public 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):

• 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.
• On 6 October 1949, the 62nd received its first four-engine Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport.
• On 28 February 1938 the airfield was officially transferred to the United States Government.
• Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the 17th Bombardment Group flew anti-submarine patrols off the west coast of the United States with the new North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
• 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 62d Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McChord Field.
• In 1958, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center, and Combat Center was established at McChord.
• 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.
• 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.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• 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 addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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 Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX):

• The furthest airport from Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,466 miles (18,453 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• At one point during the early 1980's Swift Aire Lines, which was based at the nearby San Luis Obispo Airport, was the only airline flying nonstop between Santa Maria and Los Angeles, primarily with Fokker F27 Friendship turboprops which the carrier had purchased new from the manufacturer.
• Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Public Airport", another name for SMX is "Capt. G. Allan Hancock FieldSanta Maria Army Airfield".
• Allegiant Air has expanded flights between Las Vegas and Santa Maria with four nonstops per week each way.
• Because of Santa Maria Public Airport's relatively low elevation of 261 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Public 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.
• Besides the current Allegiant jet service, SkyWest Airlines operating as United Express via a code sharing agreement with United Airlines flies Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops and sometimes Bombardier CRJ-200 Regional Jet nonstop to Los Angeles that served the airport for many years.
• Santa Maria Public Airport is three miles south of Santa Maria, in northern Santa Barbara County, California.
• During its use by the military Santa Maria AAF also controlled Estrella Army Airfield, near Paso Robles as an auxiliary airfield to support the pilot training activity.
• The closest airport to Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) is Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSW of SMX.