Nonstop flight route between Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States and Tampa, Florida, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VPS to MCF:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- VPS Airport Information
- MCF Airport Information
- Facts about VPS
- Facts about MCF
- Map of Nearest Airports to VPS
- List of Nearest Airports to VPS
- Map of Furthest Airports from VPS
- List of Furthest Airports from VPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to MCF
- List of Nearest Airports to MCF
- Map of Furthest Airports from MCF
- List of Furthest Airports from MCF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS), Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States and MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 302 miles (or 487 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 Northwest Florida Regional Airport and MacDill Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | VPS / KVPS |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 30°28'59"N by 86°31'31"W |
| Area Served: | Fort Walton Beach, Destin |
| Airport Type: | Public / Military |
| Elevation: | 87 feet (27 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from VPS |
| More Information: | VPS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | MCF / KMCF |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Tampa, Florida, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 27°50'57"N by 82°31'15"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from MCF |
| More Information: | MCF Maps & Info |
Facts about Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS):
- The closest airport to Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) is Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport (DSI), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SSE of VPS.
- The airport has a 110,000 ft² passenger terminal with three second-level gates with passenger jet ways and three ground-level commuter gates with regional jet boarding bridges
- Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,174 miles (17,983 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
- In addition to being known as "Northwest Florida Regional Airport", another name for VPS is "Eglin Air Force Base".
- Okaloosa County owns and operates the airport terminal, which is on 131 acres of Eglin AFB property that is lease from the U.S.
- Because of Northwest Florida Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 87 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Florida Regional 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.
Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):
- The base also supports the large military retiree community in the Tampa Bay area and surrounding environs.
- MacDill AFB was established in 1939 as Southeast Air Base, Tampa.
- Flying operations at MacDill began in 1941 with the base's first mission being the defense of Gulf of Mexico.
- It was the B-26 that earned the slogan "one a day in Tampa Bay." The aircraft proved hard to fly and land by many pilots due to its short wings, high landing speeds, and fighter plane maneuverability.
- The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.
- On 24 June 1945 a hurricane hit the Tampa area, and the B-17 aircraft were evacuated to Vichy Army Airfield, Missouri.
- In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
- Estimates of the number of crew members trained at the base during the war vary from 50,000 to 120,000, with as many as 15,000 troops were stationed at MacDill Field at one time.
- Detachment 1 of the 23d Wing is unique in that it hosts the Deployed Unit Complex at MacDill AFB, providing flight line and logistical support for detachments of Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps tactical jet fighter and attack aircraft utilizing the nearby Avon Park Air Force Range facility, the Avon Range also being operated and maintained by Det 1, 23d Wing.
- The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
