Nonstop flight route between Central, Alaska, United States and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Central Airport (CEM), Central, Alaska, United States and MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,693 miles (or 5,943 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 Central Airport and MacDill Air Force Base, 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 Central Airport and MacDill Air Force Base. 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 Central Airport (CEM):

• In addition to being known as "Central Airport", another name for CEM is "PACE".
• Central Airport (CEM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Central Airport (CEM) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,218 miles (16,444 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Central Airport covers an area of 97 acres at an elevation of 937 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Central Airport (CEM) is Circle Hot Springs Airport (CHP), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) SE of CEM.
• Because of Central Airport's relatively low elevation of 937 feet, planes can take off or land at Central 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.

Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• The base also supports the large military retiree community in the Tampa Bay area and surrounding environs.
• The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.
• It was the B-26 that earned the slogan "one a day in Tampa Bay." The aircraft proved hard to fly and land by many pilots due to its short wings, high landing speeds, and fighter plane maneuverability.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
• Air defense of the Tampa Bay area was the mission of the 53d Pursuit Group, established at MacDIll on 15 January 1941.
• Beginning in January 1944, the 11th Photographic Group used MacDill for its mission of photographic mapping in the US and sent detachments to carry out similar operations in Africa, the CBI theater, the Near and Middle East, Mexico, Canada, Alaska, and the Caribbean.
• The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to the antisubmarine mission, another prewar mission of MacDill was "Project X" the ferrying of combat aircraft eastward to the Philippines via ferrying routes set up by Ferrying Command over South Atlantic Ocean and Central Africa.
• The host unit at MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Mobility Wing, assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force.