Nonstop flight route between Camp San Luis Obispo, California, United States and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between O'Sullivan Army Heliport (CSL), Camp San Luis Obispo, California, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 164 miles (or 264 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 O'Sullivan Army Heliport and Edwards Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about O'Sullivan Army Heliport (CSL):

• Because of O'Sullivan Army Heliport's relatively low elevation of 250 feet, planes can take off or land at O'Sullivan Army Heliport 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 O'Sullivan Army Heliport (CSL) is San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) SE of CSL.
• The furthest airport from O'Sullivan Army Heliport (CSL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,442 miles (18,414 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• The base has played a significant role in the development of virtually every aircraft to enter the Air Force inventory since World War II.
• The furthest airport from Edwards Air Force Base (EDW) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,414 miles (18,369 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The base is next to Rogers Dry Lake, an endorheic desert salt pan whose hard dry lake surface provides a natural extension to Edwards' runways.
• On the afternoon of 7 December 1941, the 41st Bombardment Group and the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron moved to Muroc from Davis-Monthan Army Airfield, Arizona with a collection of B-18 Bolos, an A-29 Hudson and B-25 Mitchells.
• The Main Base is also the home of the Benefield Anechoic Facility, an electromagnetic and radio frequency testing building.
• In the spring of 1942, however, the immense volume of flight test already being conducted at Wright Field, in Ohio, was one of the factors driving a search for a new site where a "Top Secret" airplane could undergo tests.
• The closest airport to Edwards Air Force Base (EDW) is Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV), which is located only 19 miles (30 kilometers) NW of EDW.
• As a military airbase, civilian access is severely restricted, but is possible with prior coordination and good reason.
• With the X-1, flight testing at Muroc began to assume two distinct identities.