Nonstop flight route between Pinehurst / Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moore County Airport (SOP), Pinehurst / Southern Pines, North Carolina, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,163 miles (or 3,481 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 Moore 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Moore County Airport (SOP):

• The furthest airport from Moore County Airport (SOP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,608 miles (18,682 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Moore County Airport (SOP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Moore County Airport (SOP) is Mackall Army Airfield (HFF), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SSW of SOP.
• The rift was exacerbated by the Airport Authority's $2 million proposal which was approved by lawmakers, to build several large hangars using taxpayer funds.
• On November 23, 2007, Delta Air Lines ended its seasonal service to Atlanta citing "poor load factors" and "insufficient facilities".
• Because of Moore County Airport's relatively low elevation of 461 feet, planes can take off or land at Moore County 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.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• The initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.
• 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.
• 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.
• In July 1942, Muroc Army Airfield became a separate airfield from March Field and was placed under the jurisdiction of Fourth Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• As a military airbase, civilian access is severely restricted, but is possible with prior coordination and good reason.
• As with virtually all of the test programs conducted during the war years, most of the actual flight test work on the P-59 was conducted by the contractor.
• With the X-1, flight testing at Muroc began to assume two distinct identities.
• 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.