Nonstop flight route between Fort Knox, Kentucky, United States and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Godman Army Airfield (FTK), Fort Knox, Kentucky, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,778 miles (or 2,861 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 Godman Army Airfield 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 Godman Army Airfield (FTK):

• Godman Army Airfield is a military airport located on the Fort Knox United States Army post in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States.
• Godman Army Airfield (FTK) has 4 runways.
• Because of Godman Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 756 feet, planes can take off or land at Godman Army Airfield 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.
• In addition to the Kentucky ANG, the New Jersey ANG's 108th Fighter-Bomber Wing was federalized and brought into active service on 1 March 1951, was assigned to Strategic Air Command's 40th Air Division at Turner AFB, Georgia.
• The closest airport to Godman Army Airfield (FTK) is Addington Field (EKX), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) S of FTK.
• The furthest airport from Godman Army Airfield (FTK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,229 miles (18,071 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The official Air Technical Information Command report on the crash stated that they were of the opinion that Captain Mantell lost consciousness due to oxygen starvation.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• A major reason for the growth of Edwards AFB was the nearness of West Coast aircraft manufacturers.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.