Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Ta'if, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF), Ta'if, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,292 miles (or 13,344 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 Ta'if Regional 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 Ta'if Regional 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):

• Previously known as Muroc Air Force Base, Edwards AFB is named in honor of Captain Glen Edwards.
• As a military airbase, civilian access is severely restricted, but is possible with prior coordination and good reason.
• 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.
• A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
• 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 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.
• 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 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 Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF):

• Because of Ta'if Regional Airport's high elevation of 4,848 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at TIF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make TIF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is nearly antipodal to Ta'if Regional Airport (meaning Ta'if Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tureira Airport), and is located 12,361 miles (19,893 kilometers) away in Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF) is King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) W of TIF.