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):

• 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 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 Main Base is also the home of the Benefield Anechoic Facility, an electromagnetic and radio frequency testing building.
• 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 initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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 is an airport serving Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, China.
• Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 construction of a railway line between the airport and the city started on 2012-12-21.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC) is Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of ZGC.