Nonstop flight route between Big Creek, Belize and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Big Creek Airport (BGK), Big Creek, Belize and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,171 miles (or 3,494 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 Big Creek Airport and MCAS El Toro, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Big Creek Airport (BGK):

• Big Creek Airport (BGK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Big Creek Airport (BGK) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,976 miles (19,273 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Big Creek Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Big Creek 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 closest airport to Big Creek Airport (BGK) is Independence Airport (INB), which is located only 1 mile (1 kilometer) NE of BGK.

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• The land area originally taken by the air station is planned to be converted into a large recreational center, the Orange County Great Park.
• 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 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.
• The base headquarters was established on November 4, 1942 and the first landing occurred in late November when a Major Micheal Carmichael, flying from Camp Kearny, was forced to make an emergency landing among the construction equipment.
• Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682 acres home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast.
• The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• 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.
• 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.
• Already the largest Marine air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations.
• 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.
• Over the years, the VOCs had seeped into the groundwater, resulting in a plume of contaminated groundwater extending for three miles to the west of the station.
• In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
• 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.
• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.