Nonstop flight route between Shafter, California, United States and Tucson, Arizona, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shafter Airport (MIT), Shafter, California, United States and Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA), Tucson, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 529 miles (or 852 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 Shafter Airport and Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Shafter Airport (MIT):

• In addition to being known as "Shafter Airport", another name for MIT is "Minter Field".
• Lerdo Field, as the airport was initially known during World War II was first opened in June 1941 when the United States Army Air Corps dispatched a small garrison of airmen to open an airfield at Shafter.
• Because of Shafter Airport's relatively low elevation of 424 feet, planes can take off or land at Shafter 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 primary aircraft flown at Minter Field was the Vultee BT-13 Valiant, which was used for basic flight training.
• Shafter Airport (MIT) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Shafter Airport (MIT) is Meadows Field (BFL), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ESE of MIT.
• With the relative completion of construction in July 1942, the airfield was renamed Minter Field Army Airfield a member of the locally prominent Minter family.
• The furthest airport from Shafter Airport (MIT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,404 miles (18,353 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

Facts about Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA):

• As the location of the Air Force Materiel Command's 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, Davis–Monthan Air Force Base is the sole aircraft boneyard for excess military and government aircraft.
• The closest airport to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) is Tucson International Airport (TUS), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SW of DMA.
• The furthest airport from Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,508 miles (18,521 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• With the end of the war, operations at the base came to a virtual standstill.
• On 15 June 1964, Davis-Monthan's 303d Bombardment Wing was inactivated as part of the retirement of the B-47 Stratojet from active service.
• In the 1990s, the 355 TTW continued to train A-10 crews for assignments to units in the United States, England, and Korea.