Nonstop flight route between Mangaia Island, Cook Islands and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mangaia Island Airport (MGS), Mangaia Island, Cook Islands and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,721 miles (or 7,598 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 Mangaia Island 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 Mangaia Island 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 Mangaia Island Airport (MGS):

• Because of Mangaia Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Mangaia 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.
• The closest airport to Mangaia Island Airport (MGS) is Akatoka Manava Airport (Mauke Airport) (MUK), which is located 127 miles (204 kilometers) NNE of MGS.
• The furthest airport from Mangaia Island Airport (MGS) is Kufra Airport (AKF), which is nearly antipodal to Mangaia Island Airport (meaning Mangaia Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kufra Airport), and is located 12,261 miles (19,732 kilometers) away in Kufra, Libya.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• It is the home of the Air Force Test Center and is the Air Force Materiel Command center of excellence for conducting and supporting research and developmental flight test and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to combat.
• 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.
• 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.
• In December 1949, Muroc was renamed Edwards Air Force Base in honor of Captain Glen Edwards, who was killed a year earlier in the crash of the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing.
• 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.
• On the afternoon of 7 December 1941, the 41st Bombardment Group and the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron moved to Muroc from Davis-Monthan Army Airfield, Arizona with a collection of B-18 Bolos, an A-29 Hudson and B-25 Mitchells.
• 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".