Nonstop flight route between Mitchell, South Dakota, United States and Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE), Mitchell, South Dakota, United States and NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,616 miles (or 2,601 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 Mitchell Municipal Airport and NAS Key West, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE):

• In addition to being known as "Mitchell Municipal Airport", another name for MHE is "Mitchell Army Airfield".
• Returned over to civil use after the war, it is now a public airport providing general aviation service.
• Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE) is Huron Regional Airport (HON), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNW of MHE.
• From July to late September, 1943, the 700th Bomb Squadron of the 445th Bomb Group conducted their advanced training at Mitchell Army Air Field.
• The furthest airport from Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,544 miles (16,968 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about NAS Key West (NQX):

• In 1946, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 was established at NAS Key West and for the next three decades conducted airborne antisubmarine warfare systems evaluation out of Boca Chica, while Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 1 conducted Atlantic Fleet helicopter fleet replacement training in the SH-3 Sea King out of the former seaplane base at Trumbo Point.
• Because of NAS Key West's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Key West 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 "NAS Key West", other names for NQX include "Naval Air Station Key West" and "NQX[1]".
• The closest airport to NAS Key West (NQX) is Key West International Airport (EYW), which is located only 5 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of NQX.
• On 5 October 2001, Naval Air Station Key West was temporarily downgraded and redesignated as Naval Air Facility Key West, but on 1 April 2003, the air facility was upgraded and restored back to full air station status as Naval Air Station Key West.
• NAS Key West was to become a focal point during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which posed the first doorstep threat to America in more than a century.
• The furthest airport from NAS Key West (NQX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,575 miles (18,629 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.
• The nation's southernmost Naval Base proved to be an ideal year-round training facility with rapid access to the open sea lanes and ideal flying conditions for Naval Aviation.
• After World War II ended, NAS Key West was retained as a training facility.
• Naval Air Station Key West, is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States.
• On January 18, 1918, the first class of student aviators arrived for seaplane training, which launched the station's reputation as a premier training site for Naval Aviators, a reputation which continues today.