Nonstop flight route between Lebakeng, Lesotho and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lebakeng Airport (LEF), Lebakeng, Lesotho and MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,336 miles (or 13,415 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 Lebakeng Airport and MacDill 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 Lebakeng Airport and MacDill 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 Lebakeng Airport (LEF):

• The closest airport to Lebakeng Airport (LEF) is Lesobeng Airport (LES), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) WNW of LEF.
• Lebakeng Airport (LEF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lebakeng Airport (LEF) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,744 miles (18,900 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Lebakeng Airport's high elevation of 6,040 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LEF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LEF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• In addition to the antisubmarine mission, another prewar mission of MacDill was "Project X" the ferrying of combat aircraft eastward to the Philippines via ferrying routes set up by Ferrying Command over South Atlantic Ocean and Central Africa.
• Detachment 1 of the 23d Wing is unique in that it hosts the Deployed Unit Complex at MacDill AFB, providing flight line and logistical support for detachments of Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps tactical jet fighter and attack aircraft utilizing the nearby Avon Park Air Force Range facility, the Avon Range also being operated and maintained by Det 1, 23d Wing.
• The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.
• The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In late 1943, when Second Air Force began transitioning to B-29 Superfortress training, the B-17 mission returned to MacDill which continued through the end of World War II.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
• All of these airfields came under the jurisdiction of Third Air Force.
• Also located at MacDill are a division of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Joint Communications Support Element, the Florida Air National Guard's 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron, the Navy Reserve Forces Command's Navy Operational Support Center Tampa, the US Army's 297th Military Intelligence Battalion, the Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory, activities of the U.S.
• Estimates of the number of crew members trained at the base during the war vary from 50,000 to 120,000, with as many as 15,000 troops were stationed at MacDill Field at one time.
• It was the B-26 that earned the slogan "one a day in Tampa Bay." The aircraft proved hard to fly and land by many pilots due to its short wings, high landing speeds, and fighter plane maneuverability.