Nonstop flight route between Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Edwards, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from NHK to EDW:
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- About this route
- NHK Airport Information
- EDW Airport Information
- Facts about NHK
- Facts about EDW
- Map of Nearest Airports to NHK
- List of Nearest Airports to NHK
- Map of Furthest Airports from NHK
- List of Furthest Airports from NHK
- Map of Nearest Airports to EDW
- List of Nearest Airports to EDW
- Map of Furthest Airports from EDW
- List of Furthest Airports from EDW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK), Patuxent River, Maryland, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,293 miles (or 3,690 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 Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Edwards Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NHK / KNHK |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Patuxent River, Maryland, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°17'9"N by 76°24'42"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
Airport Type: | Naval Air Station |
Elevation: | 39 feet (12 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from NHK |
More Information: | NHK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | EDW / KEDW |
Airport Name: | Edwards Air Force Base |
Location: | Edwards, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°54'20"N by 117°53'0"W |
Operator/Owner: | United States Air Force |
View all routes: | Routes from EDW |
More Information: | EDW Maps & Info |
Facts about Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK):
- By 1965, reconnaissance Squadron VQ-4, based at NAS Patuxent River, began using Lockheed C-130s equipped with special communications equipment to perform their around-the-clock Take Charge and Move Out mission.
- Commissioned on April 1, 1943 on land largely acquired through eminent domain, the air station grew rapidly in response to World War II and continued to evolve through the Cold War to the present.
- In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station Patuxent River", other names for NHK include "Trapnell Field" and "KNHK - FAA: NHK".
- On 1 April 1976, Patuxent River's air field was named after pioneering aviator VADM Frederick M.
- Because of Naval Air Station Patuxent River's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River 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.
- Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is St. Mary's County Regional Airport (LTW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of NHK.
- Situated on a peninsula between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Patuxent River, NAS Patuxent River is located on 6,400 acres of what was once prime farmland, consisting of several large plantations, Mattapony, Susquehanna, and Cedar Point, as well as numerous tenant and sharecropper properties and a few clusters of vacation homes.
- Employing some 7,000 at its peak of construction, the area had a Gold Rush "boom town" feel as local residents were joined by workers from all over the country, eager to get on the high-paying jobs on station.
- The furthest airport from Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NHK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Command, the U.S.
Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):
- Previously known as Muroc Air Force Base, Edwards AFB is named in honor of Captain Glen Edwards.
- 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.
- 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.
- A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
- 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 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.
- The Main Base is also the home of the Benefield Anechoic Facility, an electromagnetic and radio frequency testing building.
- With the end of the war, Fourth Air Force relinquished command of Muroc Army Airfield on 16 October 1945 and jurisdiction was transferred to Air Technical Service Command, becoming Air Materiel Command in 1946.
- The North Base is located at the north-west corner of Rogers Lake and is the site of the Air Force's most secret test programs at Edwards.