Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,810 miles (or 7,741 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 Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International 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 Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International 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):

• Construction of the Army Air Forces Bombardier School began on 15 May 1942, and the airfield received its first class of cadets on 16 September 1942.
• The AT-11 which was activated to replace the separate air and ground units.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• 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.
• The facility first was used by the United States Army Air Forces as Big Spring Army Air Field, opening on 28 April 1942 as part of the Central Flying Training Command.
• 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.

Facts about Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR):

• Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR) is Gov. Dix-Sept Rosado Airport (MVF), which is located 127 miles (204 kilometers) SE of FOR.
• Since January 7, 1974 the airport is operated by Infraero and in 1997 it was upgraded to international category.
• Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport handled 5,952,629 passengers last year.
• Some of its facilities are shared with the Fortaleza Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.
• The furthest airport from Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR) is Batom Airport (BXM), which is located 11,999 miles (19,310 kilometers) away in Batom, Indonesia.
• In addition to being known as "Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport", another name for FOR is "Aeroporto Internacional Pinto Martins – Fortaleza".
• On August 31, 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL525 million investiment plan to up-grade Pinto Martins International Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil, Fortaleza being one of the venue cities.
• Because of Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport's relatively low elevation of 82 feet, planes can take off or land at Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International 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.