Nonstop flight route between Vila Real, Portugal and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vila Real Airport (VRL), Vila Real, Portugal and MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,226 miles (or 6,801 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 Vila Real Airport and MacDill Air Force 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 Vila Real Airport and MacDill Air Force Base. 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 Vila Real Airport (VRL):

• In addition to being known as "Vila Real Airport", another name for VRL is "Aeródromo Municipal de Vila Real".
• The closest airport to Vila Real Airport (VRL) is Braga Airport (BGZ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) WNW of VRL.
• The furthest airport from Vila Real Airport (VRL) is Takaka Aerodrome (KTF), which is nearly antipodal to Vila Real Airport (meaning Vila Real Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Takaka Aerodrome), and is located 12,399 miles (19,955 kilometers) away in Takaka, New Zealand.
• Vila Real Airport (VRL) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• In an administrative reorganization by HQ Army Air Force, on 1 May 1944, numbered training units in the Zone of the Interior were re-designated as "Army Air Force Base Units".
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to the antisubmarine mission, another prewar mission of MacDill was "Project X" the ferrying of combat aircraft eastward to the Philippines via ferrying routes set up by Ferrying Command over South Atlantic Ocean and Central Africa.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
• MacDill Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force base located approximately 4 miles south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida.
• The 29th Bombardment Group was moved to MacDill from Langley Field, Virginia on 21 May 1940.
• Flying operations at MacDill began in 1941 with the base's first mission being the defense of Gulf of Mexico.
• Two secondary Army Airfields, Brooksville Army Airfield and Hillsborough Army Airfield were built and opened in early 1942 to support the flight operations of MacDill and Drew Fields.