Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Altenrhein, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH), Altenrhein, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,472 miles (or 8,807 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 Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield and St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport, 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 Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield and St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport. 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 Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS):

• Perhaps the most dominant feature on the ATC landscape in 1974 was the serious fuel shortage the command had to contend with for much of the year.
• The airfield was activated as Big Spring Air Force Base on 1 October 1951 by the United States Air Force Air Training Command and established the 3560th Pilot Training Wing.
• The furthest airport from Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,166 miles (17,969 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Midland Airpark (MDD), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) WSW of BGS.
• The AT-11 which was activated to replace the separate air and ground units.
• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.

Facts about St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH):

• St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (meaning St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,051 miles (19,394 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The paved, eastbound runway 10 is equipped with an Instrument landing system.
• The airport features a small passenger terminal building and some apron and hangar stands for aircraft such as the Embraer 170, business jets or general aviation planes such as the Cessna 172.
• The closest airport to St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) is Hohenems-Dornbirn Airport (HOH), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) SE of ACH.
• In addition to being known as "St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport", another name for ACH is "People's Business Airport".