Nonstop flight route between Rongelap Atoll, Marshall Islands and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rongelap Airport (RNP), Rongelap Atoll, Marshall Islands and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,946 miles (or 7,960 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 Rongelap 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 Rongelap 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 Rongelap Airport (RNP):

• The closest airport to Rongelap Airport (RNP) is Wotho Airport (WTO), which is located 91 miles (146 kilometers) SW of RNP.
• Rongelap Airport (RNP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Rongelap Airport (RNP) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Rongelap Airport (meaning Rongelap Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,200 miles (19,634 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• 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 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 Main Base is also the home of the Benefield Anechoic Facility, an electromagnetic and radio frequency testing building.
• The first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
• As a military airbase, civilian access is severely restricted, but is possible with prior coordination and good reason.
• 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.
• A major reason for the growth of Edwards AFB was the nearness of West Coast aircraft manufacturers.
• 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.