Nonstop flight route between Sanya, Hainan, China and Edwards, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX), Sanya, Hainan, China and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW), Edwards, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,627 miles (or 12,274 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 Sanya Phoenix International 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 Sanya Phoenix International 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 Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX):

• The closest airport to Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX) is Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK), which is located 132 miles (212 kilometers) NNE of SYX.
• In addition to being known as "Sanya Phoenix International Airport", other names for SYX include "三亚凤凰国际机场" and "Sānyà Fènghuáng Guójì Jīcháng".
• Sanya Phoenix Airport Railway Station of the Hainan Western Ring High-Speed Railway, which is planned to be opened by the end of 2014, will be located just north of the airport.
• The furthest airport from Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX) is Chacalluta International Airport (ARI), which is nearly antipodal to Sanya Phoenix International Airport (meaning Sanya Phoenix International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chacalluta International Airport), and is located 12,420 miles (19,988 kilometers) away in Arica, Chile.
• Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Edwards Air Force Base (EDW):

• The initial use for Muroc was IV Bomber Command Operational Unit training.
• 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.
• 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 major reason for the growth of Edwards AFB was the nearness of West Coast aircraft manufacturers.
• 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 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 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.