Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Manston, Kent, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Manston Airport (MSE), Manston, Kent, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,435 miles (or 8,746 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 Manston 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 Manston 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):

• The first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
• 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.
• 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.
• With the X-1, flight testing at Muroc began to assume two distinct identities.
• 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.

Facts about Manston Airport (MSE):

• Manston Airport (MSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In the winter of 1915–1916, early aircraft began to use the open farmlands at Manston as a site for emergency landings.
• Manston Airport handled 8,595 passengers last year.
• After an absence of regular charter services, Aspro Holidays operated a series of summer charter services during the 1992–93 summer season with its in-house airline Inter European Airways to Palma and added a service to Heraklion, which was often operated using their larger Boeing 757 airliner.
• Iran Air used Manston as a fuel stop for flight 710 from Heathrow to Tehran due to fuel disputes in London, until 1 December 2011.
• The closest airport to Manston Airport (MSE) is Lympne Airport (LYM), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SW of MSE.
• Because of Manston Airport's relatively low elevation of 178 feet, planes can take off or land at Manston 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 sale of Manston to Infratil, a company based in Wellington, New Zealand and owner of Glasgow Prestwick Airport, was completed on 26 August 2005.
• The furthest airport from Manston Airport (MSE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,906 miles (19,162 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airfield today comprises 700 acres.
• Departures were offered during summer 2011 to Funchal with specialist operator Atlantic Holidays, operated by UK charter airline Monarch Airlines but have since been discontinued.