Nonstop flight route between Lancing, West Sussex, United Kingdom and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shoreham Airport (ESH), Lancing, West Sussex, United Kingdom and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,471 miles (or 8,804 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 Shoreham 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 Shoreham 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Shoreham Airport (ESH):

• Because of Shoreham Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Shoreham 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.
• In addition to being known as "Shoreham Airport", another name for ESH is "Shoreham (Brighton City) Airport".
• The first aviator to fly there was Harold Piffard in 1910.
• Shoreham Airport handled 1,500 passengers last year.
• A halt on the West Coastway Line was opened in 1910, just in front of the main building of the airport.
• The aerodrome became an airport for the adjacent towns of Brighton, Hove and Worthing in the 1930s.
• The closest airport to Shoreham Airport (ESH) is Chichester/Goodwood Airport (QUG), which is located 20 miles (33 kilometers) W of ESH.
• The furthest airport from Shoreham Airport (ESH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,919 miles (19,182 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airfield was bombed several times and a Messerschmitt Bf 109 was shot down by ground fire during one such attack, crash-landing near the terminal building.
• The 2007 show raised in excess of £150,000 for the Royal Air Forces Association, a record achievement.
• Shoreham Airport (ESH) has 4 runways.
• The airport is used by privately owned light aeroplanes, flying schools, and for light aircraft and helicopter maintenance and sales.

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• 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 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.
• 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 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.
• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
• 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 closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.