Nonstop flight route between Piacenza, Italy and Santa Ana, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from QPZ to NZJ:
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- About this route
- QPZ Airport Information
- NZJ Airport Information
- Facts about QPZ
- Facts about NZJ
- Map of Nearest Airports to QPZ
- List of Nearest Airports to QPZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from QPZ
- List of Furthest Airports from QPZ
- 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 Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (QPZ), Piacenza, Italy and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,087 miles (or 9,797 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 Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base 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 Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base and MCAS El Toro. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QPZ / LIMS |
Airport Name: | Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base |
Location: | Piacenza, Italy |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°54'47"N by 9°43'23"E |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 456 feet (139 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from QPZ |
More Information: | QPZ 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 Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (QPZ):
- Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (QPZ) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (QPZ) is Parma Airport (PMF), which is located 29 miles (46 kilometers) ESE of QPZ.
- The furthest airport from Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (QPZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base (meaning Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,122 miles (19,509 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Because of Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base's relatively low elevation of 456 feet, planes can take off or land at Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base 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 MCAS El Toro (NZJ):
- Already the largest Marine air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations.
- The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
- 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.
- Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682 acres home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast.
- 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.
- 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 closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility.