Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Phoenix, Arizona, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA), Phoenix, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 373 miles (or 600 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 Edwards Air Force Base and Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• As a military airbase, civilian access is severely restricted, but is possible with prior coordination and good reason.
• 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 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.
• Aircraft testing continued at this desert "Army Air Base", then on 8 November 1943, the base title was changed to "Muroc Army Air Field, Muroc".
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA):

• In response to the expansion issues, PMGAA has begun planning for a new east terminal.
• Phase four will complete the 2030 plan, allowing IWA able to handle 10 million enplanements annually with a total of 60 gates and 21,000 vehicle parking spaces.
• Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) has 3 runways.
• In 2004 charter airline Ryan International Airlines began MD-82 flights to Bullhead City International Airport in Bullhead City, Arizona, next to Laughlin, Nevada and many resorts.
• In addition to being known as "Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport", another name for AZA is "IWA".
• The closest airport to Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) is Falcon Field (MSC), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NNW of AZA.
• The furthest airport from Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,452 miles (18,429 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• On July 31, 2007 the low-cost Las Vegas-based carrier Allegiant Air announced plans to open a focus city at Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport, connecting the Phoenix area to 13 cities.