Nonstop flight route between Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH), Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,040 miles (or 11,329 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 Lord Howe Island 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 Lord Howe Island 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 Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH):

• The furthest airport from Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH) is Madeira Airport (FNC), which is nearly antipodal to Lord Howe Island Airport (meaning Lord Howe Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Madeira Airport), and is located 12,181 miles (19,604 kilometers) away in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.
• Because of Lord Howe Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Lord Howe Island 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.
• On 20 April 2009 the runway was damaged by heavy rains of 230 mm in three hours, leaving 100 tourists stuck on the island.
• Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lord Howe Island Airport (LDH) is Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS), which is located 363 miles (584 kilometers) WNW of LDH.

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• 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 site is currently used as a filming location, including the test track for the United States version of BBC's Top Gear franchise.
• 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.
• Already the largest Marine air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations.
• 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 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.
• 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 May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
• The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.