Nonstop flight route between Fair Isle, Scotland, United Kingdom and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fair Isle Airport (FIE), Fair Isle, Scotland, United Kingdom and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,044 miles (or 8,118 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 Fair Isle 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 Fair Isle 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 Fair Isle Airport (FIE):

• Fair Isle Airport (FIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Fair Isle Airport (FIE) is Sumburgh Airport (LSI), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) NNE of FIE.
• Because of Fair Isle Airport's relatively low elevation of 237 feet, planes can take off or land at Fair Isle 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 Fair Isle Airport (FIE) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,468 miles (18,457 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• 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 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 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.
• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
• The site is currently used as a filming location, including the test track for the United States version of BBC's Top Gear franchise.
• 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 closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.
• 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.