Nonstop flight route between Mattoon/Charleston, Illinois, United States and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO), Mattoon/Charleston, Illinois, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,652 miles (or 2,659 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 Coles County Memorial 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 Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO):

• Because of Coles County Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 722 feet, planes can take off or land at Coles County Memorial 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 Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,091 miles (17,849 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) is University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) N of MTO.
• Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) has 3 runways.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• The Main Base is also the home of the Benefield Anechoic Facility, an electromagnetic and radio frequency testing building.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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 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 is next to Rogers Dry Lake, an endorheic desert salt pan whose hard dry lake surface provides a natural extension to Edwards' runways.
• A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
• 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.