Nonstop flight route between Eastsound, Washington, United States and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Orcas Island Airport (ESD), Eastsound, Washington, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 988 miles (or 1,589 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 relatively short distance between Orcas Island Airport and Edwards Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Orcas Island Airport (ESD):

• In addition to being known as "Orcas Island Airport", another name for ESD is "ORS".
• Orcas Island Airport (ESD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Orcas Island Airport (ESD) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,712 miles (17,239 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Orcas Island Airport (ESD) is Rosario Seaplane Base (RSJ), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SSE of ESD.
• Because of Orcas Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Orcas Island 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.
• Orcas Island Airport is a public airport located 1 nautical mile north of the central business district of Eastsound on Orcas Island in San Juan County, Washington, United States.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• Its curriculum focused on the traditional field of performance testing and the relatively new field of stability and control, which had suddenly assumed critical importance with the dramatic increases in speed offered by the new turbojets.
• 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 P-59s were tested at Muroc from October 1942 through February 1944 without a single accident and, though the aircraft did not prove to be combat worthy, the successful conduct of its test program, combined with the success of the Lockheed XP-80 program which followed it in early 1944, sealed the future destiny of the remote high desert installation.
• 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 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 Main Base is also the home of the Benefield Anechoic Facility, an electromagnetic and radio frequency testing building.
• The initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.
• In July 1942, Muroc Army Airfield became a separate airfield from March Field and was placed under the jurisdiction of Fourth Air Force.
• The base is next to Rogers Dry Lake, an endorheic desert salt pan whose hard dry lake surface provides a natural extension to Edwards' runways.
• Aircraft testing continued at this desert "Army Air Base", then on 8 November 1943, the base title was changed to "Muroc Army Air Field, Muroc".