Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Biak, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Frans Kaisiepo Airport (BIK), Biak, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,128 miles (or 13,081 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 Frans Kaisiepo 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 Frans Kaisiepo 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):

• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• 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 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.
• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• 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.
• Big Spring Army Airfield

Facts about Frans Kaisiepo Airport (BIK):

• The closest airport to Frans Kaisiepo Airport (BIK) is Kornasoren Airport (FOO), which is located 87 miles (140 kilometers) WNW of BIK.
• The government of Netherlands soon took over the airfield.
• In addition to being known as "Frans Kaisiepo Airport", another name for BIK is "Bandara Frans Kaisiepo".
• The furthest airport from Frans Kaisiepo Airport (BIK) is Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport (Tirirical) (SLZ), which is nearly antipodal to Frans Kaisiepo Airport (meaning Frans Kaisiepo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport (Tirirical)), and is located 12,175 miles (19,593 kilometers) away in São Luís, Brazil.
• Mokmer Airfield is located to the west of Mokmer village on Biak, parallel to the coastline and the Japen Straight and is the only one of the three currently used as an airport, now called Frans Kaisiepo International Airport.
• Taxis and civil transport cars can be used as public transport alongside private vehicles.
• Frans Kaisiepo Airport (BIK) currently has only 1 runway.
• As World War II started in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan started occupying Irian Jaya in 1942.
• The Battle of Biak Island came about after a succession of Japanese defeats in 1943 and 1944 along the northern coast of New Guinea.
• Because of Frans Kaisiepo Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Frans Kaisiepo 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.
• Frans Kaisiepo Airport handled 366 passengers last year.