Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NZJ to THU:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- NZJ Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about NZJ
- Facts about THU
- 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 THU
- List of Nearest Airports to THU
- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,331 miles (or 5,361 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 Thule 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 Thule Air Base. 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: | THU / BGTL |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Pituffik, Greenland |
| GPS Coordinates: | 76°31'51"N by 68°42'11"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from THU |
| More Information: | THU Maps & Info |
Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):
- During the presidency of Richard M.
- 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.
- Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682 acres home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast.
- The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
- The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
- 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.
- 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.
- MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
- The site is currently used as a filming location, including the test track for the United States version of BBC's Top Gear franchise.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
- In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
- The furthest airport from Thule Air Base (THU) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 9,883 miles (15,905 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
