Nonstop flight route between Decatur, Alabama, United States and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU), Decatur, Alabama, United States and MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 538 miles (or 865 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 Pryor Field Regional Airport and MacDill Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU):

• The closest airport to Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) is Huntsville International Airport (HSV), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DCU.
• The Pryor Field Regional Airport receives $30,000 annually each from the cities of Athens and Decatur and from the county commissions of Morgan and Limestone
• Opened in October 1941 with 4,600 by 4,600 feet square all-direction turf runway.
• Because of Pryor Field Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 592 feet, planes can take off or land at Pryor Field Regional 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.
• Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,180 miles (17,992 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• Several bases in Florida, including MacDill, served as detention centers for German prisoners-of-war in the latter part of 1944 and 1945.
• All of these airfields came under the jurisdiction of Third Air Force.
• Air defense of the Tampa Bay area was the mission of the 53d Pursuit Group, established at MacDIll on 15 January 1941.
• Two secondary Army Airfields, Brooksville Army Airfield and Hillsborough Army Airfield were built and opened in early 1942 to support the flight operations of MacDill and Drew Fields.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• Estimates of the number of crew members trained at the base during the war vary from 50,000 to 120,000, with as many as 15,000 troops were stationed at MacDill Field at one time.