Nonstop flight route between Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States and Edwards, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RKS to EDW:
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- About this route
- RKS Airport Information
- EDW Airport Information
- Facts about RKS
- Facts about EDW
- Map of Nearest Airports to RKS
- List of Nearest Airports to RKS
- Map of Furthest Airports from RKS
- List of Furthest Airports from RKS
- 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 Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS), Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 665 miles (or 1,069 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 Rock Springs–Sweetwater County 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: | RKS / KRKS |
| Airport Name: | Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport |
| Location: | Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 41°35'39"N by 109°3'55"W |
| Area Served: | Rock Springs, Wyoming |
| Operator/Owner: | Rock Springs & Sweetwater County |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 6765 feet (2,062 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RKS |
| More Information: | RKS 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 Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS):
- The closest airport to Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) is Kemmerer Municipal Airport (EMM), which is located 79 miles (126 kilometers) WNW of RKS.
- The airport covers 1,242 acres at an elevation of 6,765 feet.
- The furthest airport from Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,864 miles (17,484 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Because of Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport's high elevation of 6,765 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RKS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RKS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) has 2 runways.
Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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".
- 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.
