Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Oran, Algeria:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from EDW to TAF:
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- About this route
- EDW Airport Information
- TAF Airport Information
- Facts about EDW
- Facts about TAF
- 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 TAF
- List of Nearest Airports to TAF
- Map of Furthest Airports from TAF
- List of Furthest Airports from TAF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF), Oran, Algeria would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,115 miles (or 9,842 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 Oran Tafaraoui 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 Oran Tafaraoui Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
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: | TAF / DAOL |
| Airport Name: | Oran Tafaraoui Airport |
| Location: | Oran, Algeria |
| GPS Coordinates: | 35°32'27"N by 0°32'2"W |
| Area Served: | Oran, Algeria |
| Operator/Owner: | People’s National Army |
| Airport Type: | Public/Military |
| Elevation: | 367 feet (112 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from TAF |
| More Information: | TAF Maps & Info |
Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):
- In December 1949, Muroc was renamed Edwards Air Force Base in honor of Captain Glen Edwards, who was killed a year earlier in the crash of the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
- 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 first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
- As a military airbase, civilian access is severely restricted, but is possible with prior coordination and good reason.
Facts about Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF):
- Because of Oran Tafaraoui Airport's relatively low elevation of 367 feet, planes can take off or land at Oran Tafaraoui 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 Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF) is Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NW of TAF.
- The furthest airport from Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF) is Whakatane Airport (WHK), which is nearly antipodal to Oran Tafaraoui Airport (meaning Oran Tafaraoui Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Whakatane Airport), and is located 12,220 miles (19,666 kilometers) away in Whakatane, New Zealand.
- During World War II, it was a primary mission objective of the United States Army 34th Infantry Division during the Allied Operation Torch landings on 8 November 1942, and became a major Twelfth Air Force base of operations during the North African Campaign against the German Afrika Korps.
- Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF) currently has only 1 runway.
- The new desert Spitfires of the 31st Fighter Group were also assigned to Tafaraoui.
