Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,472 miles (or 3,978 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 Westover Air Reserve 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.
• Its curriculum focused on the traditional field of performance testing and the relatively new field of stability and control, which had suddenly assumed critical importance with the dramatic increases in speed offered by the new turbojets.
• 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".
• 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.
• It is the home of the Air Force Test Center and is the Air Force Materiel Command center of excellence for conducting and supporting research and developmental flight test and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to combat.
• In July 1942, Muroc Army Airfield became a separate airfield from March Field and was placed under the jurisdiction of Fourth Air Force.
• 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 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 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.

Facts about Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• Westover was also the launching point of the heroic Berlin Airlift for 327 days during the Soviet blockade.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• In 1942 Westover Field was training center for anti-submarine, engineering, chemical platoons, bomber and fighter groups.
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• Current military operations at Westover Air Reserve Base are centered around its exceptionally long runways.
• The original airfield at Westover consisted of three runways in the standard "A" pattern to accommodate landings in all directions based on wind direction.
• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• ADC established a more substantial presence in July 1957 when the 4729th Air Defense Group was activated.
• Plans for Westover Field were made in 1939 as a result of the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland in 1939.