Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and St. Mary's, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NZJ to KSM:
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- About this route
- NZJ Airport Information
- KSM Airport Information
- Facts about NZJ
- Facts about KSM
- Map of Nearest Airports to NZJ
- List of Nearest Airports to NZJ
- Map of Furthest Airports from NZJ
- List of Furthest Airports from NZJ
- Map of Nearest Airports to KSM
- List of Nearest Airports to KSM
- Map of Furthest Airports from KSM
- List of Furthest Airports from KSM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States and St. Mary's Airport (KSM), St. Mary's, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,784 miles (or 4,480 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 St. Mary's 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 St. Mary's Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NZJ / KNZJ |
Airport Name: | MCAS El Toro |
Location: | Santa Ana, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°40'33"N by 117°43'51"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Marine Corps |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 383 feet (117 meters) |
# of Runways: | 5 |
View all routes: | Routes from NZJ |
More Information: | NZJ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | KSM / PASM |
Airport Name: | St. Mary's Airport |
Location: | St. Mary's, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 62°3'38"N by 163°18'6"W |
Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 312 feet (95 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from KSM |
More Information: | KSM Maps & Info |
Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):
- 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.
- Those against the airport proposal were largely residents of the cities in the immediate vicinity of El Toro, such as Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Dana Point, and Mission Viejo, where residents were alarmed at the idea of the aircraft noise.
- 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.
- Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located near Irvine, California.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about St. Mary's Airport (KSM):
- Because of St. Mary's Airport's relatively low elevation of 312 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Mary's 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 St. Mary's Airport (KSM) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,494 miles (16,889 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- St. Mary's Airport (KSM) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to St. Mary's Airport (KSM) is Mountain Village Airport (MOU), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) W of KSM.