Nonstop flight route between Marana, Arizona, United States and Grootfontein, Namibia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MZJ to GFY:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- MZJ Airport Information
- GFY Airport Information
- Facts about MZJ
- Facts about GFY
- Map of Nearest Airports to MZJ
- List of Nearest Airports to MZJ
- Map of Furthest Airports from MZJ
- List of Furthest Airports from MZJ
- Map of Nearest Airports to GFY
- List of Nearest Airports to GFY
- Map of Furthest Airports from GFY
- List of Furthest Airports from GFY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Pinal Airpark (MZJ), Marana, Arizona, United States and Grootfontein Airport (GFY), Grootfontein, Namibia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,206 miles (or 14,816 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 Pinal Airpark and Grootfontein 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 Pinal Airpark and Grootfontein Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | MZJ / KMZJ |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Marana, Arizona, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 32°30'34"N by 111°19'31"W |
| Area Served: | Marana, Arizona |
| Operator/Owner: | Pinal County |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 1893 feet (577 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MZJ |
| More Information: | MZJ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GFY / FYGF |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Grootfontein, Namibia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 19°36'6"S by 18°7'20"E |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 4636 feet (1,413 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GFY |
| More Information: | GFY Maps & Info |
Facts about Pinal Airpark (MZJ):
- Marana became the headquarters of all Central Intelligence Agency air operations during the Vietnam War years, when it was the primary facility of Intermountain Airlines, a wholly owned CIA "front" company which was used to supply covert operations in Southeast Asia & elsewhere.
- The furthest airport from Pinal Airpark (MZJ) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,496 miles (18,502 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The infrastructure installed at Marana during World War II was extensive.
- Pinal Airpark (MZJ) currently has only 1 runway.
- Marana was closed after World War II and in 1948, Pinal County accepted a deed to the property, subsequent to the Air Force's disposal of most of the buildings, waterlines, gas lines, and electrical lines.
- In addition to being known as "Pinal Airpark", another name for MZJ is "Marana Army Airfield".
- The closest airport to Pinal Airpark (MZJ) is Marana Regional Airport (AVW), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SE of MZJ.
- One of the more notable aircraft assigned to Marana during its CIA years was a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, AAF Serial 44-85531.
Facts about Grootfontein Airport (GFY):
- Grootfontein Airport (GFY) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Grootfontein Airport (GFY) is Halali Airport (HAL), which is located 115 miles (186 kilometers) WNW of GFY.
- In addition to being known as "Grootfontein Airport", another name for GFY is "Grootfontein Airport".
- The furthest airport from Grootfontein Airport (GFY) is PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), which is nearly antipodal to Grootfontein Airport (meaning Grootfontein Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from PMRF Barking Sands), and is located 12,222 miles (19,669 kilometers) away in Kekaha, Hawaii, United States.
- Because of Grootfontein Airport's high elevation of 4,636 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GFY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GFY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
