Nonstop flight route between West Lafayette, Indiana, United States and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Purdue University Airport (LAF), West Lafayette, Indiana, United States and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,726 miles (or 2,777 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 Purdue University 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 Purdue University Airport (LAF):

• The furthest airport from Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,148 miles (17,941 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Purdue University Airport (LAF) has 2 runways.
• Because of Purdue University Airport's relatively low elevation of 606 feet, planes can take off or land at Purdue University 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.
• FedEx donated a 727 to Purdue, which is taxied through the airport every once in a while.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 1,959 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 1,518 enplanements in 2009, and 1,405 in 2010.
• In the early 60s, runway 10-28 and a larger hangar were built to support the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction with two DC-6 aircraft.
• Runway 23 has a displaced threshold, which shortens the runway to 3,913 ft for landing operations.
• The closest airport to Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Kentland Municipal Airport (KKT), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NW of LAF.
• Purdue University Airport has an FAA-staffed air traffic control tower and is the second busiest tower in Indiana.

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 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 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 end of the war, Fourth Air Force relinquished command of Muroc Army Airfield on 16 October 1945 and jurisdiction was transferred to Air Technical Service Command, becoming Air Materiel Command in 1946.
• 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.
• A water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad since 1876, the site was largely unsettled until the early 20th century.