Nonstop flight route between Nelspruit, South Africa and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP), Nelspruit, South Africa and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,480 miles (or 16,866 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 Kruger Mpumalanga International 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 Kruger Mpumalanga International 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 Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP):

• Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP) is Mala Mala Airport (AAM), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) NE of MQP.
• The furthest airport from Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,884 miles (19,126 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• 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.
• 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.
• There are a vast array of organizations at Edwards that do not fall under the 412th Test Wing.
• Jurisdiction of Edwards AFB was transferred from Air Materiel Command on 2 April 1951 to the newly created Air Research and Development Command.
• The first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
• 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.
• The base has played a significant role in the development of virtually every aircraft to enter the Air Force inventory since World War II.
• As with virtually all of the test programs conducted during the war years, most of the actual flight test work on the P-59 was conducted by the contractor.