Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from TCM to SPA:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- TCM Airport Information
- SPA Airport Information
- Facts about TCM
- Facts about SPA
- 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 SPA
- List of Nearest Airports to SPA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPA
- List of Furthest Airports from SPA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA), Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,244 miles (or 3,612 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 Spartanburg Downtown Memorial 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: |
|
| 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: | SPA / KSPA |
| Airport Name: | Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport |
| Location: | Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°54'56"N by 81°57'23"W |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 801 feet (244 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SPA |
| More Information: | SPA 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.
- 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.
- On 6 October 1949, the 62nd received its first four-engine Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport.
- 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 addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
- On 28 February 1938 the airfield was officially transferred to the United States Government.
- Following the end of the war in Europe, McChord redeployed thousands of troops arriving from the European theater to the Pacific as part of Air Transport Command.
- 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.
- 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.
- McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
- SeADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the SAGE headquarters combat center came under the 25th Air Division.
Facts about Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA):
- The furthest airport from Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,463 miles (18,449 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- An FAA operated air traffic control tower was operational at the airport but closed in 1981 during the PATCO controllers strike.
- Because of Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 801 feet, planes can take off or land at Spartanburg Downtown Memorial 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 airport is home to the Spartanburg Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol and to the Spartanburg Pilot's Association
- Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The airport once had three intersecting runways with a parallel taxiway system that connected them to the aircraft parking apron.
- The closest airport to Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) is Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) W of SPA.
- An instrument landing system is available for use on runway 5.
