Nonstop flight route between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,312 miles (or 10,158 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 Santos Dumont 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 Santos Dumont 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 Santos Dumont Airport (SDU):

• Bus 016 is a circular service between Santos Dumont Airport and downtown area, particularly Cinelândia Subway station.
• Because of Santos Dumont Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Santos Dumont 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.
• Santos Dumont Airport handled 9,204,603 passengers last year.
• A new public terminal building for seaplanes was inaugurated on 29 October 1938.
• The furthest airport from Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Santos Dumont Airport (meaning Santos Dumont Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,125 miles (19,513 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
• Santos Dumont Airport is the second major airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Santos Dumont Airport", another name for SDU is "Aeroporto Santos Dumont".
• The closest airport to Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NW of SDU.
• Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) has 2 runways.
• On 26 May 2007, in time for the 2007 Pan American Games, a brand-new, modern extension of the original terminal was opened.
• In 1934, in order to handle a growing amount of land operations, land was reclaimed from the sea to create the first runway of the airport with a length of 1,300 feet.
• On 21 May 1959 a formal agreement between Varig, Cruzeiro do Sul, and VASP created an air shuttle service, the first of its kind in the world.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• In July 1942, Muroc Army Airfield became a separate airfield from March Field and was placed under the jurisdiction of Fourth Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• With the end of the war, Fourth Air Force relinquished command of Muroc Army Airfield on 16 October 1945 and jurisdiction was transferred to Air Technical Service Command, becoming Air Materiel Command in 1946.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.