Nonstop flight route between Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from CEF to NQX:
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- About this route
- CEF Airport Information
- NQX Airport Information
- Facts about CEF
- Facts about NQX
- Map of Nearest Airports to CEF
- List of Nearest Airports to CEF
- Map of Furthest Airports from CEF
- List of Furthest Airports from CEF
- Map of Nearest Airports to NQX
- List of Nearest Airports to NQX
- Map of Furthest Airports from NQX
- List of Furthest Airports from NQX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,325 miles (or 2,132 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 Westover Air Reserve Base and NAS Key West, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CEF / KCEF |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 42°11'38"N by 72°32'4"W |
View all routes: | Routes from CEF |
More Information: | CEF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NQX / KNQX |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 24°34'32"N by 81°41'20"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Military: Naval Air Station |
Elevation: | 6 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from NQX |
More Information: | NQX Maps & Info |
Facts about Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):
- In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
- The 60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was moved to the base in January 1951 flying F-86A Sabres and assumed an air defense mission, providing air defense in the northeastern United States.
- With the end of World War II, Westover Field was designated as a permanent United States Army Air Force installation in 1945 and was not inactivated as most of the wartime temporary training airfields were in the fall of 1945.
- Plans for Westover Field were made in 1939 as a result of the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland in 1939.
- The mission of Westover was to organize and provide initial training to new combat units.
- The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
- On 6 April 1940, "Army Day" nationwide, the dedication, flag raising and ground breaking ceremony was held on site.
- The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Westover Field was designed to be nearly self-sufficient, with not only hangars, but barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops were needed.
- Four-engine C-54 Skymaster and shorter-range C-47 Skytrain transports took supplies and reinforcements from Westover to the armed forces and returned with the wounded and discharged troops.
- The Westover complex serves the "Joint Use" mission of military and civilian cooperation.
Facts about NAS Key West (NQX):
- NAS Key West is a state-of-the-art training facility for air-to-air combat fighter aircraft of all military services, with perfect flying weather year round and unparalleled aerial ranges that offer aircrew training within minutes after takeoff.
- By 1964, the USAF added an AN/FPS-6A height-finder radar at NAS Key West, which was modified to an AN/FPS-90 set when a second radar was added.
- The furthest airport from NAS Key West (NQX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,575 miles (18,629 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- Because of NAS Key West's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Key West 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 NAS Key West (NQX) is Key West International Airport (EYW), which is located only 5 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of NQX.
- In the 1970s, Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 33 relocated to NAS Key West from NAS Norfolk, Virginia with a mix of NC-121K, ERA-3B / TA-3B / KA-3B Skywarrior, EA-6A Intruder, EA-4F Skyhawk II, EP-3 Orion and the sole example of the EF-4B/EF-4J Phantom II aircraft.
- In addition to being known as "NAS Key West", other names for NQX include "Naval Air Station Key West" and "NQX[1]".
- NAS Key West was to become a focal point during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which posed the first doorstep threat to America in more than a century.
- On 22 September of that year, the base's log book recorded the first naval flight ever made from Key West – a Curtiss N-9 seaplane flown by U.S.
- NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.