Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Esmeraldas, Ecuador:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States and Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM), Esmeraldas, Ecuador would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,343 miles (or 5,379 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 MCAS El Toro and Carlos Concha Torres International 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 MCAS El Toro and Carlos Concha Torres International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• The site is currently used as a filming location, including the test track for the United States version of BBC's Top Gear franchise.
• In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
• The furthest airport from MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,486 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Already the largest Marine air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations.
• This faction lobbied strongly in favor of other uses for the property.
• The closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.
• The base headquarters was established on November 4, 1942 and the first landing occurred in late November when a Major Micheal Carmichael, flying from Camp Kearny, was forced to make an emergency landing among the construction equipment.
• Before the site could be developed for civilian use, the Department of the Navy was required to perform environmental remediation to clean up contaminated soil on the site.
• The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
• Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682 acres home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast.
• Because of MCAS El Toro's relatively low elevation of 383 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS El Toro 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 Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM):

• Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Carlos Concha Torres International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Carlos Concha Torres International 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 furthest airport from Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM) is Minangkabau International Airport (MIA) (PDG), which is nearly antipodal to Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (meaning Carlos Concha Torres International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minangkabau International Airport (MIA)), and is located 12,422 miles (19,991 kilometers) away in Ketaping, West Sumatra, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM) is Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO), which is located 116 miles (186 kilometers) SE of ESM.