Nonstop flight route between Pensacola, Florida, United States and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NPA to MSL:
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- About this route
- NPA Airport Information
- MSL Airport Information
- Facts about NPA
- Facts about MSL
- Map of Nearest Airports to NPA
- List of Nearest Airports to NPA
- Map of Furthest Airports from NPA
- List of Furthest Airports from NPA
- Map of Nearest Airports to MSL
- List of Nearest Airports to MSL
- Map of Furthest Airports from MSL
- List of Furthest Airports from MSL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA), Pensacola, Florida, United States and Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 304 miles (or 489 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 Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field and Northwest Alabama Regional Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | NPA / KNPA |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Pensacola, Florida, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 30°21'15"N by 87°18'20"W |
| Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
| Airport Type: | Military: Naval Air Station |
| Elevation: | 28 feet (9 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from NPA |
| More Information: | NPA Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA):
- The closest airport to Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) is NOLF Saufley Field (NUN), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNW of NPA.
- With the inauguration in 1935 of the cadet training program, activity at Pensacola again expanded.
- In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field", another name for NPA is "KNPA - FAA: NPA".
- The furthest airport from Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,154 miles (17,951 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) has 3 runways.
- Pensacola was taken by General Andrew Jackson in November 1814 during the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States.
- The air station also hosts the Naval Education and Training Command and the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, which provides training for all naval flight surgeons, aviation physiologists, and aviation experimental psychologists.
- Pilot training requirements shifted upward to meet the demands for the Vietnam War, which occupied much of the 1960s and 1970s.
- The Navy Department awakened to the possibilities of naval aviation through the efforts of Captain Washington Irving Chambers.
- Because of Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field 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 Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL):
- Northwest Alabama Regional Airport is a public-use airport in Colbert County, Alabama, United States.
- Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) has 2 runways.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pilot training at the airfield apparently ended on May 30, 1944, with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
- 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.
- Northwest Alabama Regional Airport covers an area of 640 acres at an elevation of 551 feet above mean sea level.
- As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 5,061 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 6,897 in 2009, and 8,680 in 2010.
