Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BIF to HIR:
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- About this route
- BIF Airport Information
- HIR Airport Information
- Facts about BIF
- Facts about HIR
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to HIR
- List of Nearest Airports to HIR
- Map of Furthest Airports from HIR
- List of Furthest Airports from HIR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR), Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,769 miles (or 10,893 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field), 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field). You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 31°50'57"N by 106°22'47"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 3946 feet (1,203 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BIF |
More Information: | BIF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HIR / AGGH |
Airport Name: | Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) |
Location: | Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 9°25'41"S by 160°3'16"E |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 28 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from HIR |
More Information: | HIR Maps & Info |
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- Between the two World Wars, Biggs served as a refueling stop for transient aircraft.
- Beginning in 1959, the B-36s were sent to Davis-Monthan AFB for reclamation as B-52B Stratofortresses began to arrive, being transferred from the 99th Bombardment Wing at Westover AFB, Massachusetts which was receiving new B-52Ds.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- With the inactivation of the 362d, its personnel and aircraft were assigned to the newly reactivated 20th Fighter Group.
- Beginning in 1950, the 97th Bomb Wing received its first B-50 Superfortress, an improved version of the B-29 capable of delivering atomic weapons.
- The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR):
- Honiara International Airport, formerly known as Henderson Field, is an airport located on Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands.
- The furthest airport from Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) is Cap Skirring Airport (CSK), which is nearly antipodal to Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (meaning Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap Skirring Airport), and is located 12,138 miles (19,533 kilometers) away in Cap Skirring, Senegal.
- Control of the airstrip was the focus of months of fighting in the Guadalcanal campaign during World War II.
- Henderson Field was named for Marine Major Lofton Henderson, commanding officer of VMSB-241 who was killed in action at the Battle of Midway while leading his squadron into action against the Japanese carrier forces thereby becoming the first Marine aviator to perish during the battle.
- Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) (HIR) is Mbambanakira Airport (MBU), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SSW of HIR.
- The field was abandoned after the war, but reopened in 1969 as a modernized civilian airport.
- Because of Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field)'s relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field) 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.