Nonstop flight route between Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and Santa Ana, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from AWK to NZJ:
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- About this route
- AWK Airport Information
- NZJ Airport Information
- Facts about AWK
- Facts about NZJ
- Map of Nearest Airports to AWK
- List of Nearest Airports to AWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from AWK
- List of Furthest Airports from AWK
- Map of Nearest Airports to NZJ
- List of Nearest Airports to NZJ
- Map of Furthest Airports from NZJ
- List of Furthest Airports from NZJ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,684 miles (or 7,538 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 Wake Island Airfield and MCAS El Toro, 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 Wake Island Airfield and MCAS El Toro. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | AWK / PWAK |
| Airport Name: | Wake Island Airfield |
| Location: | Wake Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 19°16'56"N by 166°38'12"E |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 23 feet (7 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from AWK |
| More Information: | AWK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | NZJ / KNZJ |
| Airport Name: | MCAS El Toro |
| Location: | Santa Ana, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 33°40'33"N by 117°43'51"W |
| Operator/Owner: | United States Marine Corps |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 383 feet (117 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 5 |
| View all routes: | Routes from NZJ |
| More Information: | NZJ Maps & Info |
Facts about Wake Island Airfield (AWK):
- Wake Island Airfield is a military airport located on Wake Island, which is known for the Battle of Wake Island.
- Because of Wake Island Airfield's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Wake Island Airfield 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.
- Wake Island Airfield (AWK) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is located 11,652 miles (18,752 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
- The closest airport to Wake Island Airfield (AWK) is Quoin Hill Airfield (UIQ), which is located 169 miles (272 kilometers) SE of AWK.
- Japan Airlines used both Wake Island and Honolulu as stops on its initial Tokyo-San Francisco service using Douglas DC-6s in the mid-1950s.
Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):
- MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
- The furthest airport from MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,486 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- Before the site could be developed for civilian use, the Department of the Navy was required to perform environmental remediation to clean up contaminated soil on the site.
- Because of MCAS El Toro's relatively low elevation of 383 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS El Toro 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.
- In 1993, MCAS El Toro was designated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and all of its activities were to be transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
- The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
- The land originally surrounding the base was mostly at agricultural use when it first opened, but it the late 1980s and early 1990s, residential development started to begin in the area.
- The site is currently used as a filming location, including the test track for the United States version of BBC's Top Gear franchise.
