Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ), Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,447 miles (or 5,547 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 Virgin Gorda 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 Virgin Gorda 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):

• The base has played a significant role in the development of virtually every aircraft to enter the Air Force inventory since World War II.
• The first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• With the end of the war, Fourth Air Force relinquished command of Muroc Army Airfield on 16 October 1945 and jurisdiction was transferred to Air Technical Service Command, becoming Air Materiel Command in 1946.

Facts about Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ):

• Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Virgin Gorda Airport (meaning Virgin Gorda Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,269 miles (19,745 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Virgin Gorda Airport (VIJ) is Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport (EIS), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) E of VIJ.
• Because of Virgin Gorda Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Virgin Gorda 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.