Nonstop flight route between Raton, New Mexico, United States and Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Raton Municipal Airport (RTN), Raton, New Mexico, United States and NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,589 miles (or 2,557 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 relatively short distance between Raton Municipal Airport and NAS Key West, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Raton Municipal Airport (RTN):

• In addition to being known as "Raton Municipal Airport", another name for RTN is "Crews Field".
• Because of Raton Municipal Airport's high elevation of 6,352 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RTN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RTN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Raton Municipal Airport (RTN) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Raton Municipal Airport (RTN) is Perry Stokes Airport (TAD), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) NNE of RTN.
• The furthest airport from Raton Municipal Airport (RTN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,053 miles (17,788 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Until around 1954 Continental Airlines stopped there, a DC-3 a day each way between Denver and Albuquerque, but Raton may not have seen an airliner since then.

Facts about NAS Key West (NQX):

• Because of NAS Key West's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Key West 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.
• On a broader scale, NAS Key West's national security mission supports operational and readiness requirements for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Air National Guard and Army National Guard units, other federal agencies, and allied military forces.
• In addition to being known as "NAS Key West", other names for NQX include "Naval Air Station Key West" and "NQX[1]".
• The furthest airport from NAS Key West (NQX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,575 miles (18,629 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• By 1943, German submarines were operating so near Key West that they were sinking allied ships within sight of land.
• The closest airport to NAS Key West (NQX) is Key West International Airport (EYW), which is located only 5 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of NQX.
• NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.
• During World War I the base was expanded again, and in 1917, a U.S.
• In the 1970s, Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 33 relocated to NAS Key West from NAS Norfolk, Virginia with a mix of NC-121K, ERA-3B / TA-3B / KA-3B Skywarrior, EA-6A Intruder, EA-4F Skyhawk II, EP-3 Orion and the sole example of the EF-4B/EF-4J Phantom II aircraft.
• The air station is also host to several tenant commands, including Fighter Squadron Composite 111, Strike Fighter Squadron 106 Detachment Key West, the U.S.
• During the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, NAS Key West's Trumbo Point Annex and Truman Annex waterfront pier areas served as the home port for the Pegasus-class hydrofoils of Patrol Hydrofoil Missile Squadron ONE.
• Naval Air Base Key West pilots flew in search of German submarines resting on the surface to recharge batteries.