Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Natuna, Riau Islands, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Ranai Airport (NTX), Natuna, Riau Islands, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,414 miles (or 13,541 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 Ranai 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 Ranai 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 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• The P-59s were tested at Muroc from October 1942 through February 1944 without a single accident and, though the aircraft did not prove to be combat worthy, the successful conduct of its test program, combined with the success of the Lockheed XP-80 program which followed it in early 1944, sealed the future destiny of the remote high desert installation.
• The base has played a significant role in the development of virtually every aircraft to enter the Air Force inventory since World War II.
• Jurisdiction of Edwards AFB was transferred from Air Materiel Command on 2 April 1951 to the newly created Air Research and Development Command.
• There are a vast array of organizations at Edwards that do not fall under the 412th Test Wing.

Facts about Ranai Airport (NTX):

• In addition to being known as "Ranai Airport", another name for NTX is "Bandar Udara Ranai".
• Because of Ranai Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Ranai 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.
• Ranai Airport (NTX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ranai Airport (NTX) is Matak Airport (MWK), which is located 152 miles (244 kilometers) WSW of NTX.
• The furthest airport from Ranai Airport (NTX) is Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport (LET), which is nearly antipodal to Ranai Airport (meaning Ranai Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport), and is located 12,320 miles (19,827 kilometers) away in Leticia, Colombia.