Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from EDW to RDU:
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- About this route
- EDW Airport Information
- RDU Airport Information
- Facts about EDW
- Facts about RDU
- Map of Nearest Airports to EDW
- List of Nearest Airports to EDW
- Map of Furthest Airports from EDW
- List of Furthest Airports from EDW
- Map of Nearest Airports to RDU
- List of Nearest Airports to RDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDU
- List of Furthest Airports from RDU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU), Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,188 miles (or 3,522 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 relatively short distance between Edwards Air Force Base and Raleigh–Durham International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | EDW / KEDW |
Airport Name: | Edwards Air Force Base |
Location: | Edwards, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°54'20"N by 117°53'0"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Air Force |
View all routes: | Routes from EDW |
More Information: | EDW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDU / KRDU |
Airport Name: | Raleigh–Durham International Airport |
Location: | Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 35°52'40"N by 78°47'14"W |
Area Served: | The Research Triangle Metropolitan Region of North Carolina |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 435 feet (133 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from RDU |
More Information: | RDU Maps & Info |
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.
- As with virtually all of the test programs conducted during the war years, most of the actual flight test work on the P-59 was conducted by the contractor.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
Facts about Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU):
- The airport has implemented the most ambitious expansion in its history, begun in 2006 and completed in January 2011.
- The closest airport to Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Triangle North Executive Airport (Franklin County Airport) (LFN), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) ENE of RDU.
- Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Raleigh–Durham International Airport's relatively low elevation of 435 feet, planes can take off or land at Raleigh–Durham International 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.
- In the 1970s, the last decade before airline deregulation, Piedmont connected RDU to Charlotte, Greensboro, New Bern, Norfolk, Richmond, Rocky Mount, Washington, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.
- Delta Air Lines has increased operations since 2010, with resumed nonstop service to Los Angeles in June 2010, followed by new nonstop service to Columbus, Fort Myers, Hartford, Miami, Orlando, St.
- American Airlines built a terminal at RDU between 1985 and 1987 to house a new hub operation, and offered service to 38 cities at the hub's outset in June 1987.