Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Sumbawanga, Tanzania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Sumbawanga Airport (SUT), Sumbawanga, Tanzania would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,329 miles (or 15,013 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 Sumbawanga 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 Sumbawanga 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):

• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• The 62d Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McChord Field.
• 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.
• Nearly all new heavy bomb groups organized after Pearl Harbor were organized and trained at Second Air Force Bases, by II Bomber Command operational training units then were deployed to combat commands around the world.
• In 1958, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center, and Combat Center was established at McChord.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SW of TCM.

Facts about Sumbawanga Airport (SUT):

• Because of Sumbawanga Airport's high elevation of 5,920 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SUT. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SUT a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Sumbawanga Airport (SUT) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,695 miles (18,822 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• Sumbawanga Airport handled 806 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Sumbawanga Airport (SUT) is Mbala Airport (MMQ), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) SSW of SUT.
• In addition to being known as "Sumbawanga Airport", another name for SUT is "Uwanja wa Ndege wa Sumbawanga  (Swahili)".
• Sumbawanga Airport (SUT) currently has only 1 runway.