Nonstop flight route between Gush Katif, Israel and Marysville, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK), Gush Katif, Israel and Beale Air Force Base (BAB), Marysville, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,322 miles (or 11,784 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport and Beale 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport and Beale 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK):

• During the Second World War RAF Gaza was used by a number of RAF squadrons, including 33, 45, 127, 208, 318 and 451.
• After the 1948 Palestinian exodus 35,000 refugees took shelter in a camp to the south of the present day airfield.
• The closest airport to Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) is Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) S of GHK.
• The furthest airport from Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) currently has only 1 runway.
• As part of the unilateral disengagement of Israel from Gaza, Jewish settlers were evicted from the Gush Katif area in 2004 and 2005.
• The UNRWA Khan Younis refugee camp is adjacent to and south of the airfield, and the UNRWA Khan Younis Vocational Training Centre, built in 2007, is immediately south of the runway.
• Because of Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport's relatively low elevation of 107 feet, planes can take off or land at Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif 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 Beale Air Force Base (BAB):

• On 15 October 1964, the Department of Defense announced that Beale would be the home of the new, supersonic reconnaissance aircraft, the SR-71 Blackbird.
• The furthest airport from Beale Air Force Base (BAB) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,251 miles (18,107 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Beale Air Force Base (BAB) is Yuba County Airport (MYV), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of BAB.
• In 1940, the "Camp Beale" area consisted of grassland and rolling hills and the 19th century mining town of Spenceville.
• On 16 May 1964, Defense Secretary McNamara directed the accelerated phaseout of the Atlas and Titan I ICBMs.
• In 1962, in order to retain the lineage of its MAJCOM 4-digit combat units and to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its MAJCOM strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate AFCON units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history.
• In addition to being known as "Beale Air Force Base", another name for BAB is "Beale AFB".
• In 1948, Camp Beale became Beale AFB, its mission being to train bombardier navigators in radar techniques.
• Eventually excess land from the former Army Camp was sold off to the public.