Nonstop flight route between Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS), Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,381 miles (or 5,441 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 Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport and MCAS El Toro, 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 Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport and MCAS El Toro. 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 Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS):

• Early in 2005, plans were announced to expand the airport's lone runway, so that the airport can accept flights by smaller jets.
• Because of Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Antonio Rivera Rodríguez 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 Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (meaning Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,239 miles (19,697 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• When anti-military demonstrators started flocking into Vieques, both by air and sea, in 1999, Vieques Airport saw a considerable increase to its normal yearly average of passengers.
• Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) is Diego Jiménez Torres Airport (FAJ), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NW of VQS.
• Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport handled 165,043 passengers last year.

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• Already the largest Marine air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations.
• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
• Over the years, the VOCs had seeped into the groundwater, resulting in a plume of contaminated groundwater extending for three miles to the west of the station.