Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Homestead, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST), Homestead, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,317 miles (or 3,729 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 Homestead 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):

• As a military airbase, civilian access is severely restricted, but is possible with prior coordination and good reason.
• 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.
• 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.
• The North Base is located at the north-west corner of Rogers Lake and is the site of the Air Force's most secret test programs at Edwards.
• The first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
• 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 Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST):

• The closest airport to Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST) is Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport (TMB), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NNW of HST.
• In addition to being known as "Homestead Air Reserve Base", another name for HST is "Homestead ARB".
• The furthest airport from Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,568 miles (18,616 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• For its first six months of existence, Homestead Army Airfield served as a scheduled stop on a well traveled air route from northeast U.S.
• During the Atlantic hurricane season, the 482th Fighter Wing routinely supports forward deployment of the Air Force Reserve's 403rd Wing from Keesler AFB, Mississippi, flying the WC-130 Hercules aircraft in the "Hurricane Hunters" weather reconnaissance mission.
• Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Army Air Forces officials decided the site would better serve defense needs as a maintenance stopover point for aircraft being ferried to the Caribbean and North Africa.
• On 1 November 1955, the now-Homestead AFB was upgraded to a group level facility with the activation of the 379th Air Base Group which managed a major construction and rehabilitation program through 1957.
• The 379th BW transferred its B-47s beginning in October 1960 and moved without personnel or equipment to Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan in January 1961.