Nonstop flight route between Edwards, California, United States and Lanzhou, Gansu, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States and Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC), Lanzhou, Gansu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,827 miles (or 10,987 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 Lanzhou Zhongchuan 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 Lanzhou Zhongchuan 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 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.
• Edwards is also home to several other units from DOD, Air Force, Army, Navy, FAA, USPS and many companies that support the primary mission or the personnel stationed there.
• The Main Base is also the home of the Benefield Anechoic Facility, an electromagnetic and radio frequency testing building.
• As with virtually all of the test programs conducted during the war years, most of the actual flight test work on the P-59 was conducted by the contractor.
• The first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC):

• Because of Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport's high elevation of 6,388 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ZGC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ZGC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Lanzhou Airport is a focus city for Hainan Airlines.
• The furthest airport from Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is nearly antipodal to Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (meaning Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Carriel Sur International Airport), and is located 12,252 miles (19,718 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• Taxi service is relatively expensive due to the long distance to the airport, about 150RMB.
• In addition to being known as "Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport", other names for ZGC include "兰州中川机场" and "Lánzhōu Zhōngchuān Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC) is Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of ZGC.