Nonstop flight route between Tampa, Florida, United States and Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MCF to SPN:
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- About this route
- MCF Airport Information
- SPN Airport Information
- Facts about MCF
- Facts about SPN
- 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 SPN
- List of Nearest Airports to SPN
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPN
- List of Furthest Airports from SPN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States and Saipan International Airport (SPN), Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,051 miles (or 12,957 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 Saipan International 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 Saipan International 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: | SPN / PGSN |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 15°7'8"N by 145°43'45"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Commonwealth Ports Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 215 feet (66 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SPN |
| More Information: | SPN Maps & Info |
Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
- 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 6th Air Mobility Wing is commanded by Colonel Scott V.
- The 29th Bombardment Group was moved to MacDill from Langley Field, Virginia on 21 May 1940.
- 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.
Facts about Saipan International Airport (SPN):
- Saipan International Airport (SPN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Tinian International Airport (TIQ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of SPN.
- The furthest airport from Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Saipan International Airport (meaning Saipan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,125 miles (19,514 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
- Because of Saipan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Saipan 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.
- In addition to being known as "Saipan International Airport", other names for SPN include "Francisco C. Ada Airport" and "GSN".
- Once in American hands, Isely Field was expanded considerably to support Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortress operations.
- Japanese tourists began visiting Saipan in large numbers during the 1970s.
- After several months of disappointing high level bombing attacks from Isely, General Curtis LeMay, Commander of Twentieth Air Force issued a new directive that the high-altitude, daylight attacks be phased out and replaced by low-altitude, high-intensity incendiary raids at nighttime, being followed up with high explosive bombs once the targets were set ablaze.
