Nonstop flight route between Gush Katif, Israel and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK), Gush Katif, Israel and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,514 miles (or 12,092 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport and Edwards Air Force Base, 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport and Edwards Air Force Base. 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK):

• Because of Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport's relatively low elevation of 107 feet, planes can take off or land at Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif 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.
• The furthest airport from Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Following the destruction of the runway of Gaza Airport in 2002, Gaza Airstrip is the only remaining runway in the Gaza Strip.
• The closest airport to Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) is Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) S of GHK.
• After the 1948 Palestinian exodus 35,000 refugees took shelter in a camp to the south of the present day airfield.
• The UNRWA Khan Younis refugee camp is adjacent to and south of the airfield, and the UNRWA Khan Younis Vocational Training Centre, built in 2007, is immediately south of the runway.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• 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.
• Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in southern California, located approximately 22 miles northeast of Lancaster.
• In July 1942, Muroc Army Airfield became a separate airfield from March Field and was placed under the jurisdiction of Fourth Air Force.
• 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.
• The base has played a significant role in the development of virtually every aircraft to enter the Air Force inventory since World War II.
• 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.
• 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 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.