Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Pukarua Airport (PUK), Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,884 miles (or 6,251 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 Pukarua 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 Pukarua 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 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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 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 Pukarua Airport (PUK):

• The furthest airport from Pukarua Airport (PUK) is Abha Regional Airport (AHB), which is nearly antipodal to Pukarua Airport (meaning Pukarua Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Abha Regional Airport), and is located 12,415 miles (19,980 kilometers) away in Abha / Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia.
• The closest airport to Pukarua Airport (PUK) is Nukutavake Airport (NUK), which is located 134 miles (215 kilometers) WSW of PUK.
• Pukarua Airport (PUK) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Pukarua Airport", another name for PUK is "Aérodrome de Pukarua".