Nonstop flight route between Platinum, Alaska, United States and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Platinum Airport (PTU), Platinum, Alaska, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,583 miles (or 4,157 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 Platinum 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 Platinum 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 Platinum Airport (PTU):

• The furthest airport from Platinum Airport (PTU) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,706 miles (17,230 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Platinum Airport (PTU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Platinum Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Platinum 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 Platinum Airport (PTU) is Goodnews Airport (GNU), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) NE of PTU.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• 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.
• 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.
• A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
• With the X-1, flight testing at Muroc began to assume two distinct identities.
• 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 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.