Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Birmingham, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Birmingham Airport (BHX), Birmingham, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,865 miles (or 7,830 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 Birmingham 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 Birmingham 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):

• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• 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.
• At Webb AFB, the last two pilot training classes completed course work on 30 August 1977, and fixed wing qualification training ended on 1 September 1977.
• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• 78th Flying Training Wing
• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• At that time, nearly 6,000 students had graduated and the field's training aircraft had flown approximately 400,000 hours and more than 60 million miles.

Facts about Birmingham Airport (BHX):

• The extension will increase the runway length from the present 2,605 m to 3,003 m, the main plan was to have a 150m starter extension along with the 400m extension but because the plan for the tunnel had been cancelled because of costs the runway length will be 3,050 m.There will be a loop taxiway from which planes will taxi to the runway and then takeoff.
• Building a new control tower for the airport began in July 2011, to replace the old tower which has stood at the airport since it was opened in 1939.
• The furthest airport from Birmingham Airport (BHX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Birmingham Airport (BHX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Birmingham Airport (BHX) is Coventry Airport (CVT), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) ESE of BHX.
• The runway extension will be officially opened on 22 July 2014 and will be marked by a series of charter flights operated by China Southern Airlines to Beijing.
• The airport offers both domestic flights within the UK, and international flights to destinations in Europe, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, North America and the Caribbean.
• During the post-war years, public events, such as air fairs and air races were held on the site.
• Because of Birmingham Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Birmingham 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.
• Birmingham Airport handled 9,120,201 passengers last year.
• Black cabs are available at the taxi-rank outside the arrivals area of the terminals.