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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tuntutuliak Airport (WTL), Tuntutuliak, Alaska, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,643 miles (or 4,253 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 Tuntutuliak 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 Tuntutuliak 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 Tuntutuliak Airport (WTL):

• The furthest airport from Tuntutuliak Airport (WTL) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,614 miles (17,082 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Tuntutuliak Airport (WTL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Tuntutuliak Airport (WTL) is Eek Airport (EEK), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) ESE of WTL.
• In addition to being known as "Tuntutuliak Airport", another name for WTL is "A61".
• Because of Tuntutuliak Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Tuntutuliak 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• In December 1949, Muroc was renamed Edwards Air Force Base in honor of Captain Glen Edwards, who was killed a year earlier in the crash of the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing.
• 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.
• 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 base has played a significant role in the development of virtually every aircraft to enter the Air Force inventory since World War II.
• 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.