Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,493 miles (or 8,840 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 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, 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 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. 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):

• Previously known as Muroc Air Force Base, Edwards AFB is named in honor of Captain Glen Edwards.
• A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
• With the arrival of the Bell Aircraft P-59 Airacomet jet fighter, the Mojave Desert station was chosen as a secluded site for testing this super-secret airplane.
• 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 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 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.
• 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.
• The initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.
• With the end of the war, Fourth Air Force relinquished command of Muroc Army Airfield on 16 October 1945 and jurisdiction was transferred to Air Technical Service Command, becoming Air Materiel Command in 1946.

Facts about Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS):

• Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) has 6 runways.
• The furthest airport from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• A new General Aviation Terminal was opened in 2011 on the east side of the airport, operated as the KLM Jet Center.
• Schiphol uses a one terminal concept, where all facilities are located under a single roof, radiating from the central 'plaza'.
• Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the main international airport of the Netherlands, located 20 minutes ) southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer.
• Because of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's relatively low elevation of -11 feet, planes can take off or land at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol 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.
• Because of intense traffic and high landing fees, some low cost carriers decided to move their flights to smaller airports, such as Rotterdam The Hague Airport and Eindhoven Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Amsterdam Airport Schiphol", another name for AMS is "Luchthaven Schiphol".
• The closest airport to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) WSW of AMS.