Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Five Mile, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Five Mile Airport (FMC), Five Mile, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,506 miles (or 4,033 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 Five Mile 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 Five Mile 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):

• A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
• 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 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 Five Mile Airport (FMC):

• Because of Five Mile Airport's relatively low elevation of 510 feet, planes can take off or land at Five Mile 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.
• Five Mile Airport (FMC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Five Mile Airport (FMC) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,222 miles (16,450 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Five Mile Airport (FMC) is Stevens Village Airport (SVS), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) ENE of FMC.
• In addition to being known as "Five Mile Airport", other names for FMC include "Five Mile Camp Airport" and "FVM".