Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM), Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 264 miles (or 425 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 Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield and Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS):

• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.
• 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 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.
• By the mid-1970s, the end of the Vietnam War, the associated financial costs of that conflict and related cuts in USAF force structure and future defense budgets meant a marked decrease in the need for Air Force pilots.
• The airfield and flight line was converted to an uncontrolled/UNICOM-only general aviation airport renamed Big Spring McMahon-Wrinkle Airport, serving the City of Big Spring.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• In 1956, the Air Defense Command 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was transferred to Webb from Stewart Air Force Base in New York to defend the southern United States border on air intercept missions as part of the Central Air Defense Force.

Facts about Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM):

• The furthest airport from Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,319 miles (18,217 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM) has 2 runways.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 414 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 505 enplanements in 2009, and 369 in 2010.
• Because of Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport's high elevation of 4,200 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ALM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ALM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM) is Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield (HMN), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) W of ALM.