Nonstop flight route between Santa Barbara, California, United States and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Cruz Island Airport (SZN), Santa Barbara, California, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 130 miles (or 209 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 Santa Cruz Island 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 Santa Cruz Island Airport (SZN):

• Santa Cruz Island Airport (SZN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Santa Cruz Island Airport (SZN) is Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) N of SZN.
• The furthest airport from Santa Cruz Island Airport (SZN) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,512 miles (18,527 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Santa Cruz Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 50 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Cruz Island 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):

• 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.
• In the spring of 1942, however, the immense volume of flight test already being conducted at Wright Field, in Ohio, was one of the factors driving a search for a new site where a "Top Secret" airplane could undergo tests.
• 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 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 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 initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.
• The first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
• The Main Base is also the home of the Benefield Anechoic Facility, an electromagnetic and radio frequency testing building.
• A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.
• Its curriculum focused on the traditional field of performance testing and the relatively new field of stability and control, which had suddenly assumed critical importance with the dramatic increases in speed offered by the new turbojets.