Nonstop flight route between Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport (YQY), Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,880 miles (or 4,635 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 Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB, 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 Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB. 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 Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport (YQY):

• Because of Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport's relatively low elevation of 203 feet, planes can take off or land at Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy 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.
• Over the years, several travellers have been sent to this airport after their travel agents mistook it for the Sydney Airport in Australia.
• The closest airport to Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport (YQY) is Port Hawkesbury Airport (YPS), which is located 72 miles (117 kilometers) WSW of YQY.
• Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport (YQY) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport (YQY) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,654 miles (18,755 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• In 1917, the citizens of Pierce County, Washington approved a bond measure for $2,000,000 to buy 70,000 acres of land to be donated to the Federal Government for use as a military reservation.
• 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.
• 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 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 also had large maintenance facilities for Air Technical Service Command during the war, serving served as a P-39 Aircobra modification center April 1944 – May 1945 for lend-lease aircraft being sent to Russia via the Alaska Territory.
• Today, the successor organization to the 25th AD, the Western Air Defense Sector, is a major tenant organization at McChord, being one of two air defense sectors responsible for the security and integrity of continental United States air space.
• 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.
• 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.