Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Grottaglie, Puglia, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR), Grottaglie, Puglia, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,501 miles (or 10,462 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 Taranto-Grottaglie 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 Taranto-Grottaglie 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):

• On the afternoon of 7 December 1941, the 41st Bombardment Group and the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron moved to Muroc from Davis-Monthan Army Airfield, Arizona with a collection of B-18 Bolos, an A-29 Hudson and B-25 Mitchells.
• 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 success of these programs attracted a new type of research activity to the base in late 1946.
• There are a vast array of organizations at Edwards that do not fall under the 412th Test Wing.
• In the spring of 1942, however, the immense volume of flight test already being conducted at Wright Field, in Ohio, was one of the factors driving a search for a new site where a "Top Secret" airplane could undergo tests.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR):

• In August 2012, the broker ESAFLY announced that it plans to commence scheduled services from Taranto.
• Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Taranto-Grottaglie Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Taranto-Grottaglie 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 Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR) is Brindisi – Salento Airport (BDS), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) ENE of TAR.
• In addition to being known as "Taranto-Grottaglie Airport", other names for TAR include "Aeroporto di Taranto-Grottaglie" and "Taranto Grottaglie".
• The furthest airport from Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,692 miles (18,817 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• During World War II, Grottaglie Airfield was a military airfield used by the United States Army Air Forces.