Nonstop flight route between Wilmington, North Carolina, United States and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wilmington International Airport (ILM), Wilmington, North Carolina, United States and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,268 miles (or 3,649 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 relatively short distance between Wilmington International Airport and MCAS El Toro, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Wilmington International Airport (ILM):

• Wilmington International Airport is owned by New Hanover County, North Carolina.
• Wilmington International Airport (ILM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Albert J. Ellis Airport (OAJ), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) NNE of ILM.
• Because of Wilmington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilmington International 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 site is still undergoing environmental remediation, and the next five-year review for the site will be completed in August 2013.
• A 1,500-square-foot burn pit on the airport property was named a Superfund site on March 31, 1989.
• In addition to being known as "Wilmington International Airport", another name for ILM is "New Hanover County International Airport".
• The airport began in 1927 as Bluethenthal Field, named for aviator Arthur Bluethenthal, the first Wilmingtonian to be killed in World War I.
• ILM was one of four airports along the East Coast which served as an emergency abort landing site for the Space Shuttle.
• The furthest airport from Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,693 miles (18,818 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• When the contamination of the site was discovered, about 500 people live within a mile of the Site.

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.
• 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.
• Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682 acres home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast.
• 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 site is currently used as a filming location, including the test track for the United States version of BBC's Top Gear franchise.
• 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.
• 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.