Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Kuparuk, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Ugnu-Kuparuk Airport (UUK), Kuparuk, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,717 miles (or 4,372 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 Ugnu-Kuparuk 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 Ugnu-Kuparuk 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):

• As a military airbase, civilian access is severely restricted, but is possible with prior coordination and good reason.
• 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 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.
• It is the home of the Air Force Test Center and is the Air Force Materiel Command center of excellence for conducting and supporting research and developmental flight test and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to combat.
• Four months later on 10 February 1948, Muroc AAF was re-designated Muroc Air Force Base with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military service.
• The first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
• 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.
• 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 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 initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.

Facts about Ugnu-Kuparuk Airport (UUK):

• In addition to being known as "Ugnu-Kuparuk Airport", another name for UUK is "UBW".
• Ugnu-Kuparuk Airport (UUK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ugnu-Kuparuk Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Ugnu-Kuparuk 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 furthest airport from Ugnu-Kuparuk Airport (UUK) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,127 miles (16,298 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• The closest airport to Ugnu-Kuparuk Airport (UUK) is Deadhorse Airport (SCC), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) ESE of UUK.