Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Francistown, Botswana:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW), Francistown, Botswana would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,227 miles (or 14,850 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base, 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 Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base. 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.
• 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 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 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.
• 78th Flying Training Wing
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW):

• Francistown Airport is a public airport in Francistown, Botswana.
• The closest airport to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) NE of FRW.
• In addition to being known as "Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base", another name for FRW is "FBFT [1]".
• Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (FRW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base (meaning Francistown International Airport/Francistown Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,246 miles (19,707 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• In 2011 the airport's ownership of the old terminal was transferred to the Botswana Defence Force and became a military airport, with civilian traffic moved to the new Francistown International Airport terminal to the west of the airport lands.
• The new terminal building opened in 2011 and the old terminal is now used by the Botswana Defence Force.