Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Kirensk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Kirensk Airport (KCK), Kirensk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,502 miles (or 8,855 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 Kirensk 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 Kirensk 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):

• 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".
• 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.
• The success of these programs attracted a new type of research activity to the base in late 1946.
• 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.
• On the afternoon of 7 December 1941, the 41st Bombardment Group and the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron moved to Muroc from Davis-Monthan Army Airfield, Arizona with a collection of B-18 Bolos, an A-29 Hudson and B-25 Mitchells.

Facts about Kirensk Airport (KCK):

• Because of Kirensk Airport's relatively low elevation of 840 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirensk 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.
• The closest airport to Kirensk Airport (KCK) is Ust-Kut Airport (UKX), which is located 108 miles (173 kilometers) SW of KCK.
• In addition to being known as "Kirensk Airport", another name for KCK is "Аэропорт Киренск".
• The furthest airport from Kirensk Airport (KCK) is Ushuaia International Airport (USH), which is nearly antipodal to Kirensk Airport (meaning Kirensk Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ushuaia International Airport), and is located 12,191 miles (19,619 kilometers) away in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.
• Kirensk Airport (KCK) currently has only 1 runway.