Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Namatanai, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Namatanai Airport (ATN), Namatanai, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,345 miles (or 10,211 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 Namatanai 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 Namatanai 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):

• 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 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.
• With the X-1, flight testing at Muroc began to assume two distinct identities.
• 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.
• 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.
• There are a vast array of organizations at Edwards that do not fall under the 412th Test Wing.
• As a military airbase, civilian access is severely restricted, but is possible with prior coordination and good reason.

Facts about Namatanai Airport (ATN):

• Namatanai Airport (ATN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Namatanai Airport (ATN) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,818 miles (19,019 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Because of Namatanai Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Namatanai 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.
• The closest airport to Namatanai Airport (ATN) is Lihir Island Regional Airport (LNV), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) NNE of ATN.