Nonstop flight route between Joroinen, Finland and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Varkaus Airport (VRK), Joroinen, Finland and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,463 miles (or 8,792 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 Varkaus 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 Varkaus 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 Varkaus Airport (VRK):

• The closest airport to Varkaus Airport (VRK) is Mikkeli Airport (MIK), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) SSW of VRK.
• Because of Varkaus Airport's relatively low elevation of 286 feet, planes can take off or land at Varkaus 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.
• Varkaus Airport handled 8,057 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Varkaus Airport (VRK) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,834 miles (17,436 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Varkaus Airport", another name for VRK is "Varkauden lentoasema".
• Varkaus Airport (VRK) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 first major aerial activity occurred at Muroc in 1937 when the entire Army Air Corps participated in a large-scale maneuver.
• In July 1942, Muroc Army Airfield became a separate airfield from March Field and was placed under the jurisdiction of Fourth Air Force.
• 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 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 Main Base is also the home of the Benefield Anechoic Facility, an electromagnetic and radio frequency testing building.
• 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.