Nonstop flight route between Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MSL to NQX:
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- About this route
- MSL Airport Information
- NQX Airport Information
- Facts about MSL
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- List of Furthest Airports from MSL
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- List of Furthest Airports from NQX
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 787 miles (or 1,267 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 Northwest Alabama Regional Airport and NAS Key West, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MSL / KMSL |
Airport Name: | Northwest Alabama Regional Airport |
Location: | Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°44'43"N by 87°36'37"W |
Area Served: | Muscle Shoals, Alabama |
Operator/Owner: | Colbert & Lauderdale Counties |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 551 feet (168 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MSL |
More Information: | MSL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NQX / KNQX |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 24°34'32"N by 81°41'20"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Military: Naval Air Station |
Elevation: | 6 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from NQX |
More Information: | NQX Maps & Info |
Facts about Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL):
- Pilot training at the airfield apparently ended on May 30, 1944, with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
- Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) has 2 runways.
- The airport was opened in February 1940, however in 1942 it was taken over by the United States Army Air Forces as a World War II pilot training military airfield.
- The closest airport to Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of MSL.
- Currently, Muscle Shoals is served by Silver Airways with two daily flights to Atlanta.
- The furthest airport from Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,143 miles (17,932 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Northwest Alabama Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 551 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Alabama Regional 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.
Facts about NAS Key West (NQX):
- 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.
- By 1964, the USAF added an AN/FPS-6A height-finder radar at NAS Key West, which was modified to an AN/FPS-90 set when a second radar was added.
- After World War I, the base was decommissioned and its personnel were transferred or released.
- 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.
- NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.
- During the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, NAS Key West's Trumbo Point Annex and Truman Annex waterfront pier areas served as the home port for the Pegasus-class hydrofoils of Patrol Hydrofoil Missile Squadron ONE.
- After World War II ended, NAS Key West was retained as a training facility.
- 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.
- 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.
- During World War I the base was expanded again, and in 1917, a U.S.