Nonstop flight route between Utopia Creek, Alaska, United States and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Indian Mountain LRRS Airport (UTO), Utopia Creek, Alaska, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,592 miles (or 4,171 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 Indian Mountain LRRS 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 Indian Mountain LRRS 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 Indian Mountain LRRS Airport (UTO):

• Indian Mountain LRRS Airport (UTO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Indian Mountain LRRS Airport (UTO) is Hughes Airport (HUS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) WNW of UTO.
• The furthest airport from Indian Mountain LRRS Airport (UTO) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,225 miles (16,456 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The airstrip was constructed in 1952 during the construction of the Indian Mountain Air Force Station.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• 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.
• 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.
• There are a vast array of organizations at Edwards that do not fall under the 412th Test Wing.
• 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.
• With the arrival of the Bell Aircraft P-59 Airacomet jet fighter, the Mojave Desert station was chosen as a secluded site for testing this super-secret airplane.
• As a military airbase, civilian access is severely restricted, but is possible with prior coordination and good reason.
• 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.
• 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.
• The Main Base is also the home of the Benefield Anechoic Facility, an electromagnetic and radio frequency testing building.