Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Reims, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States and Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE), Reims, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,684 miles (or 9,147 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 Reims-Champagne Air Base, 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 Reims-Champagne Air Base. 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
• 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.
• In 1993, MCAS El Toro was designated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and all of its activities were to be transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
• The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• The site is currently used as a filming location, including the test track for the United States version of BBC's Top Gear franchise.
• 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.

Facts about Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE):

• The base was reactivated in 1949 as an active French Air Force base.
• The furthest airport from Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Reims-Champagne Air Base (meaning Reims-Champagne Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,056 miles (19,402 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• With the breakout of World War II in 1939, Reims was reinforced with additional units.
• It was liberated by Allied ground forces 30 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
• The first unit to arrive at Reims was the Breguet 19–equipped 12th Regiment, which arrived from the Occupied Rhineland airdrome at Lachen-Speyerdorf.
• The closest airport to Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) is Château-Thierry - Belleau Aerodrome (XCY), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) WSW of RHE.
• In addition to being known as "Reims-Champagne Air Base", another name for RHE is "Base aérienne 112Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-62".
• In 2008 it was announced that the base would be closed.
• Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Reims-Champagne Air Base's relatively low elevation of 314 feet, planes can take off or land at Reims-Champagne Air Base 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.