Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Cape Gloucester, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC), Cape Gloucester, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,589 miles (or 12,214 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 Cape Gloucester 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 Cape Gloucester 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 3560th Pilot Training Wing
• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.
• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• 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 Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC):

• Cape Gloucester Airport is an airport in West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea.
• Construction of Cape Gloucester Airport originally began in 1942 by the Australians.
• The furthest airport from Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,791 miles (18,975 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Cape Gloucester Airport (CGC) is Finschhafen Airport (FIN), which is located 90 miles (144 kilometers) SSW of CGC.
• In addition to being known as "Cape Gloucester Airport", other names for CGC include "CPG" and "Cape Gloucester Airport".
• Because of Cape Gloucester Airport's relatively low elevation of 78 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Gloucester 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.