Nonstop flight route between Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States and Edwards, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RDU to EDW:
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- About this route
- RDU Airport Information
- EDW Airport Information
- Facts about RDU
- Facts about EDW
- Map of Nearest Airports to RDU
- List of Nearest Airports to RDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDU
- List of Furthest Airports from RDU
- 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 Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU), Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,188 miles (or 3,522 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 Raleigh–Durham International Airport 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: | RDU / KRDU |
| Airport Name: | Raleigh–Durham International Airport |
| Location: | Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 35°52'40"N by 78°47'14"W |
| Area Served: | The Research Triangle Metropolitan Region of North Carolina |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 435 feet (133 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RDU |
| More Information: | RDU 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 Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU):
- Because of Raleigh–Durham International Airport's relatively low elevation of 435 feet, planes can take off or land at Raleigh–Durham International 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.
- After years of proposals, the 1981 part of Terminal 1 was closed in 2012 for a complete reconstruction.
- Raleigh–Durham International Airport has terminals 1 and 2.
- Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) has 3 runways.
- In 2010 RDU's traffic began to recover.
- The closest airport to Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Triangle North Executive Airport (Franklin County Airport) (LFN), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) ENE of RDU.
- The first terminal at RDU opened in 1955.
- The furthest airport from Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- American Airlines built a terminal at RDU between 1985 and 1987 to house a new hub operation, and offered service to 38 cities at the hub's outset in June 1987.
- Delta Air Lines has increased operations since 2010, with resumed nonstop service to Los Angeles in June 2010, followed by new nonstop service to Columbus, Fort Myers, Hartford, Miami, Orlando, St.
- After World War II Capital Airlines joined Eastern at RDU.
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 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.
- 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.
- 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".
- 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 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 initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.
- 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.
- At this time, another colorful character in Edwards' history, Pancho Barnes, built her renowned Rancho Oro Verde Fly-Inn Dude Ranch that would be the scene of many parties and celebrations to come.
- On 20 November 1951, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' Scott Crossfield became the first man to reach Mach 2 as he piloted the Skyrocket to a speed of Mach 2.005.
