Nonstop flight route between Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States and Santa Ana, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from VPS to NZJ:
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- About this route
- VPS Airport Information
- NZJ Airport Information
- Facts about VPS
- Facts about NZJ
- 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 NZJ
- List of Nearest Airports to NZJ
- Map of Furthest Airports from NZJ
- List of Furthest Airports from NZJ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS), Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,833 miles (or 2,950 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 MCAS El Toro, 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: | 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 |
Facts about Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS):
- Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Northwest Florida Regional Airport", another name for VPS is "Eglin Air Force Base".
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):
- MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
- 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 closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
- In 1950, El Toro was selected as a permanent Master Jet Station for the Fleet Marine Forces, Pacific.
- Already the largest Marine air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations.
- 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.
- 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.
- The land area originally taken by the air station is planned to be converted into a large recreational center, the Orange County Great Park.
- Before the site could be developed for civilian use, the Department of the Navy was required to perform environmental remediation to clean up contaminated soil on the site.