Nonstop flight route between Edinburgh, United Kingdom and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edinburgh Airport (EDI), Edinburgh, United Kingdom and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,080 miles (or 8,175 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 Edinburgh Airport and Edwards 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 Edinburgh Airport and Edwards 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 Edinburgh Airport (EDI):

• Edinburgh Airport (EDI) has 2 runways.
• Because of Edinburgh Airport's relatively low elevation of 136 feet, planes can take off or land at Edinburgh 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.
• In 2005, a new 57 m tall air traffic control tower was completed at a cost of £10m.
• The closest airport to Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Perth Airport (PSL), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) N of EDI.
• As a cheaper alternative to the cancelled Edinburgh Airport Rail Link project, an additional interchange station is currently being constructed on the Fife Circle Line.
• The furthest airport from Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,713 miles (18,850 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Edinburgh Airport handled 9,775,443 passengers last year.
• In 1918 the Royal Air Force was formed and the airfield was named RAF Turnhouse and ownership transferred to the Ministry of Defence.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• 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.
• The initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.
• The Main Base is also the home of the Benefield Anechoic Facility, an electromagnetic and radio frequency testing building.
• Notable occurrences at Edwards include Chuck Yeager's flight that broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, test flights of the North American X-15, the first landings of the Space Shuttle, and the 1986 around-the-world flight of the Rutan Voyager.
• In December 1949, Muroc was renamed Edwards Air Force Base in honor of Captain Glen Edwards, who was killed a year earlier in the crash of the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing.
• A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
• 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 has played a significant role in the development of virtually every aircraft to enter the Air Force inventory since World War II.