Departure
91%
vs 95% ▼ 4
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
McChord Field, also known as McChord Air Force Base, is a major military airfield within Joint Base Lewis-McChord, just south of Tacoma, Washington. Home to the 62nd Airlift Wing and its fleet of C-17 Globemaster III transports, it is a closed military installation rather than a field open to general aviation, but its long single runway and active airspace make it a notable feature for any simulator pilot flying the Puget Sound area.
McChord Field is the air component of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a combined Air Force and Army installation south of Tacoma, Washington. It is operated by the United States Air Force and hosts the 62nd Airlift Wing, part of Air Mobility Command, whose C-17 Globemaster III aircraft carry out worldwide strategic airlift, airdrop training and Antarctic resupply missions. For the sim pilot it offers a long, well-equipped military runway set against the backdrop of Mount Rainier, and a chance to fly into a busy operational airlift base rather than a civil aerodrome.
The airfield lies in Pierce County, Washington, close to the city of Lakewood and about 9 miles south-southwest of Tacoma. It forms the northern portion of the wider Joint Base Lewis-McChord complex, with the Army's Fort Lewis training areas to the south. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport lies within the same general Puget Sound corridor, and traffic in the area is worked by Seattle Approach/Departure. The base is not open to the public and its airspace is oriented entirely around military and joint operations.
McChord has a single physical runway, 16/34, with a hard surface that is lit and equipped with an ILS. The runway is 10,104 feet long, giving ample length for heavy transport types such as the C-17 Globemaster III.
Radio services at the field include an Approach/Departure frequency of 126.5 MHz worked by Seattle Approach/Departure, an ATIS on 27.01 MHz, Ground on 125.15 MHz and Tower on 124.8 MHz. Additional military frequencies include PMSV on 34.25 MHz, PMSV Metro Post on 34.94 MHz, and a Command Post (PTD) frequency of 37.22 MHz. The runway is equipped with an instrument landing system.
McChord is an active military airfield integrated into Joint Base Lewis-McChord and is not open to civilian traffic; there are no published civil joining or circuit procedures for general aviation pilots. Any flying activity here is conducted under military air traffic control and local base procedures rather than the conventions of a civil aerodrome.
The base sits within the flat, forested terrain of the Puget Sound lowlands, with Mount Rainier forming a prominent landmark visible in the background from the airfield, useful for general orientation when approaching from the south or east.
The airfield began life as Tacoma Field, established after a 1927 bond measure and officially opened on 14 March 1930 as a civilian airfield adjoining the Army's Fort Lewis reservation. It was transferred to the federal government in 1938 and renamed McChord Field on 3 July 1940, in honour of Colonel William Caldwell McChord, who had been killed in a flying accident near Richmond, Virginia in 1937. During the Second World War McChord Field served first as home to the 17th Bombardment Group, whose B-25 Mitchells flew anti-submarine patrols off the West Coast and even attacked a Japanese submarine near the mouth of the Columbia River on 24 December 1941; several airmen who trained here went on to fly in the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japan. After the departure of the 17th Bomb Group, the field became a major bomber training base under the Second Air Force. Following the creation of the United States Air Force in 1947, the station was redesignated McChord Air Force Base on 1 January 1948. The base subsequently played roles in Cold War air defence, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and later conflicts, while the 62nd Airlift Wing built its reputation flying humanitarian and combat airlift missions. On 1 February 2010, McChord Air Force Base merged with the Army's Fort Lewis to form Joint Base Lewis-McChord under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations.
Today McChord Field is the airlift hub of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, hosting the 62nd Airlift Wing's C-17 Globemaster III squadrons under Air Mobility Command, together with the Air Force Reserve's 446th Airlift Wing, the Western Air Defense Sector, and several other tenant units. The base remains a working military airfield supporting global airlift, airdrop training and Antarctic resupply operations, and it is not open to the public; access requires appropriate military authorisation rather than the prior permission arrangements of a civil field. The on-base McChord Air Museum preserves aircraft and artefacts relating to the airfield's history for those with access to the installation.