Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Punta Raisi (near Palermo), Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO), Punta Raisi (near Palermo), Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,492 miles (or 10,448 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 Falcone–Borsellino 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 Falcone–Borsellino 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.
• The success of these programs attracted a new type of research activity to the base in late 1946.
• 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 base is next to Rogers Dry Lake, an endorheic desert salt pan whose hard dry lake surface provides a natural extension to Edwards' runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in southern California, located approximately 22 miles northeast of Lancaster.
• The initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.

Facts about Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO):

• In 1994, GESAP was charged with the partial management of the airport through a convention which granted the company a 20-year mandate to run land-side activities.
• Because of Falcone–Borsellino Airport's relatively low elevation of 65 feet, planes can take off or land at Falcone–Borsellino 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 Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO) is Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi (TPS), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) WSW of PMO.
• The airport was given the name Falcone–Borsellino in memory of the two leading anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino who were murdered by the mafia in 1992.
• In addition to being known as "Falcone–Borsellino Airport", another name for PMO is "Aeroporto Falcone e Borsellino".
• Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Falcone–Borsellino Airport (PMO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,805 miles (18,999 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Falcone–Borsellino Airport handled 4,349,672 passengers last year.
• The airport's rail facility, Punta Raisi railway station, is the northwestern terminus of Palermo metropolitan railway service.