Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT), Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,393 miles (or 13,507 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 Edwards Air Force Base and Al-Baha Domestic Airport, 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 Edwards Air Force Base and Al-Baha Domestic Airport. 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 Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• As with virtually all of the test programs conducted during the war years, most of the actual flight test work on the P-59 was conducted by the contractor.
• In July 1942, Muroc Army Airfield became a separate airfield from March Field and was placed under the jurisdiction of Fourth Air Force.
• Edwards is also home to several other units from DOD, Air Force, Army, Navy, FAA, USPS and many companies that support the primary mission or the personnel stationed there.
• 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 first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
• A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
• 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.
• Conscious that March Field was located in an area of increasing growth, and with the need for bombing and gunnery ranges for his units, base and 1st Wing commander Lieutenant Colonel Henry H.
• The initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.
• 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.
• The P-59s were tested at Muroc from October 1942 through February 1944 without a single accident and, though the aircraft did not prove to be combat worthy, the successful conduct of its test program, combined with the success of the Lockheed XP-80 program which followed it in early 1944, sealed the future destiny of the remote high desert installation.
• The success of these programs attracted a new type of research activity to the base in late 1946.

Facts about Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT):

• In addition to being known as "Al-Baha Domestic Airport", another name for ABT is "مطار الباحة المحلي".
• The closest airport to Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT) is Bisha Domestic Airport (BHH), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) ESE of ABT.
• Because of Al-Baha Domestic Airport's high elevation of 5,486 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ABT. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ABT a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is nearly antipodal to Al-Baha Domestic Airport (meaning Al-Baha Domestic Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tureira Airport), and is located 12,402 miles (19,958 kilometers) away in Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• Al-Baha Domestic Airport (ABT) currently has only 1 runway.