Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Galena, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States and Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL), Galena, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,698 miles (or 4,341 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 Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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 Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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):

• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
• The land originally surrounding the base was mostly at agricultural use when it first opened, but it the late 1980s and early 1990s, residential development started to begin in the area.
• The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• The closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.
• In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
• The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
• 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.
• The Department of the Navy hired the General Services Administration and Los Angeles-based Colliers International to assist in the sale of MCAS El Toro.
• 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.

Facts about Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL):

• The closest airport to Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is Koyukuk Airport (KYU), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) WNW of GAL.
• The airport also sports a ski-jump takeoff ramp at one end and provisions for arresting gear at the other, a leftover from the Cold War years as Galena Air Force Base, as tactical aircraft required more landing and takeoff space than was available on the runway.
• The furthest airport from Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,313 miles (16,598 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• As Galena Air Force Base, it was used by the USAF during the Cold War as an interceptor base for aircraft patrolling the western areas of Alaska.
• Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport", another name for GAL is "(former Galena Air Force Base)".
• Because of Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport's relatively low elevation of 153 feet, planes can take off or land at Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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.