Nonstop flight route between Gweru, Zimbabwe and Santa Ana, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GWE to NZJ:
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- About this route
- GWE Airport Information
- NZJ Airport Information
- Facts about GWE
- Facts about NZJ
- Map of Nearest Airports to GWE
- List of Nearest Airports to GWE
- Map of Furthest Airports from GWE
- List of Furthest Airports from GWE
- 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE), Gweru, Zimbabwe and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,218 miles (or 16,445 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base 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: | GWE / FVTL |
Airport Name: | Gweru-Thornhill Air Base |
Location: | Gweru, Zimbabwe |
GPS Coordinates: | 19°26'11"S by 29°51'42"E |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 4680 feet (1,426 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GWE |
More Information: | GWE 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE):
- Because of Gweru-Thornhill Air Base's high elevation of 4,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GWE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GWE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Masvingo Airport (MVZ), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) ESE of GWE.
- The furthest airport from Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (meaning Gweru-Thornhill Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,117 miles (19,500 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) has 2 runways.
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.
- Those against the airport proposal were largely residents of the cities in the immediate vicinity of El Toro, such as Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Dana Point, and Mission Viejo, where residents were alarmed at the idea of the aircraft noise.
- 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.
- Already the largest Marine air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations.
- Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located near Irvine, California.
- The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
- 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.
- MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
- The Department of the Navy hired the General Services Administration and Los Angeles-based Colliers International to assist in the sale of MCAS El Toro.
- 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.