Nonstop flight route between Drake Bay, Costa Rica and Santa Ana, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DRK to NZJ:
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- About this route
- DRK Airport Information
- NZJ Airport Information
- Facts about DRK
- Facts about NZJ
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRK
- List of Nearest Airports to DRK
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRK
- List of Furthest Airports from DRK
- 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 Drake Bay Airport (DRK), Drake Bay, Costa Rica and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,767 miles (or 4,454 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 Drake Bay Airport 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 Drake Bay Airport 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: | DRK / MRDK |
| Airport Name: | Drake Bay Airport |
| Location: | Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
| GPS Coordinates: | 8°43'58"N by 83°39'0"W |
| Area Served: | Drake Bay, Costa Rica |
| Operator/Owner: | n/a |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DRK |
| More Information: | DRK 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 Drake Bay Airport (DRK):
- Drake Bay Airport (DRK) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Drake Bay Airport (DRK) is Palmar Sur Airport (PMZ), which is located only 20 miles (31 kilometers) NE of DRK.
- Because of Drake Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Drake Bay 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 furthest airport from Drake Bay Airport (DRK) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Drake Bay Airport (meaning Drake Bay Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,196 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):
- The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
