However, welcome news regarding Scottâs future came early in 1919 with the War Departmentâs decision to purchase Scott Field. Scottâs central location and the exceptional price of $119,285.84 influenced this decision and set the stage for Scott Air Force Baseâs amazing military future. In 1920, the government decided that the field should be turned over to the lighter-than-air branch of the Air Corps.
40075.02 / 360 / 60 = 1.8553 km. One minute of longitude on equator is 1.8553 km. Please note - on equator (i.e. on 0 degree of latitude)! Because the length of parallels decrease toward the north or south pole, the length (in km or miles) of minute of longitude differs for different latitudes.
Degrees of latitude are parallel so the distance between each degree remains almost constant but since degrees of longitude are farthest apart at the equator and converge at the poles, their distance varies greatly. Each degree of latitude is approximately 69 miles (111 kilometers) apart. The range varies (due to the earth's slightly ellipsoid shape) from 68.703 miles (110.567 km) at the equator to 69.407 (111.699 km) at the poles. This is convenient because each minute (1/60th of a degree) is approximately one [nautical] mile.