Nonstop flight route between Pemba/Porto Amelia, Mozambique and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pemba Airport (POL), Pemba/Porto Amelia, Mozambique and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,409 miles (or 16,751 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 Pemba 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 Pemba 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 Pemba Airport (POL):

• The furthest airport from Pemba Airport (POL) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,305 miles (18,194 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Pemba Airport (POL) is Nacala Airport (MNC), which is located 105 miles (168 kilometers) S of POL.
• Because of Pemba Airport's relatively low elevation of 331 feet, planes can take off or land at Pemba 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.
• Pemba Airport (POL) has 2 runways.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• The success of these programs attracted a new type of research activity to the base in late 1946.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Conscious that March Field was located in an area of increasing growth, and with the need for bombing and gunnery ranges for his units, base and 1st Wing commander Lieutenant Colonel Henry H.