Nonstop flight route between Tampa, Florida, United States and Ruby, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MCF to RBY:
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- About this route
- MCF Airport Information
- RBY Airport Information
- Facts about MCF
- Facts about RBY
- Map of Nearest Airports to MCF
- List of Nearest Airports to MCF
- Map of Furthest Airports from MCF
- List of Furthest Airports from MCF
- Map of Nearest Airports to RBY
- List of Nearest Airports to RBY
- Map of Furthest Airports from RBY
- List of Furthest Airports from RBY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States and Ruby Airport (RBY), Ruby, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,992 miles (or 6,425 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 MacDill Air Force Base and Ruby Airport, 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 MacDill Air Force Base and Ruby Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | MCF / KMCF |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Tampa, Florida, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 27°50'57"N by 82°31'15"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from MCF |
| More Information: | MCF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RBY / PARY |
| Airport Name: | Ruby Airport |
| Location: | Ruby, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 64°43'37"N by 155°28'11"W |
| Area Served: | Ruby, Alaska |
| Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 658 feet (201 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RBY |
| More Information: | RBY Maps & Info |
Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):
- 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.
- The host unit at MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Mobility Wing, assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
- The base also supports the large military retiree community in the Tampa Bay area and surrounding environs.
- 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 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.
- Flying operations at MacDill began in 1941 with the base's first mission being the defense of Gulf of Mexico.
Facts about Ruby Airport (RBY):
- Because of Ruby Airport's relatively low elevation of 658 feet, planes can take off or land at Ruby 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 closest airport to Ruby Airport (RBY) is Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) W of RBY.
- The furthest airport from Ruby Airport (RBY) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,312 miles (16,596 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
- Ruby Airport (RBY) currently has only 1 runway.
- As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 1,915 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 1,634 enplanements in 2009, and 1,809 in 2010.
