Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Council, Alaska, 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 Council Airport (CIL), Council, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,416 miles (or 5,497 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 Council 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 Council 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 Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.
• The AT-11 which was activated to replace the separate air and ground units.
• 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 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 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 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Council Airport (CIL):

• The closest airport to Council Airport (CIL) is White Mountain Airport (WMO), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) SSE of CIL.
• The furthest airport from Council Airport (CIL) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,298 miles (16,572 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Council Airport", another name for CIL is "K29".
• Council Airport (CIL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Council Airport's relatively low elevation of 85 feet, planes can take off or land at Council 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.