Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Bossier City, Louisiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD), Bossier City, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,399 miles (or 2,251 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 Barksdale Air Force Base, 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):

• The initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD):

• In addition to being known as "Barksdale Air Force Base", another name for BAD is "Barksdale AFB".
• The commander of the 2d Bomb Wing is Colonel Andrew Gebara.
• Construction of Barksdale Field began in 1931, when hangars, runways, and billets were built.
• The furthest airport from Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,884 miles (17,516 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Due to budget reductions in the B-45 program, the air force planned to inactivate the 47th Bomb Wing and transfer its B-45s and personnel to Yokota AB, Japan so Far East Air Forces could benefit from the know-how gained by the 47th at Barksdale.
• Also during World War II Barksdale played host to the major contingent of the Free French Air Forces and Nationalist Chinese aircrews.
• The closest airport to Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD) is Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) WNW of BAD.
• During World War II, the airfield trained replacement crews and entire units between 1942 and 1945.
• The 335th Bombardment Group took over training duties as a permanent Operational Training Unit on 17 July 1942 with Martin B-26 Marauders.