Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Helsinki / Malmi, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), Helsinki / Malmi, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,369 miles (or 8,641 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 Helsinki-Malmi 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 Helsinki-Malmi 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):

• 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.
• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• 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.
• 3560th Pilot Training Wing
• In 1968, ATC established a single phase-pilot training squadron concept at Webb.
• 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 base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.

Facts about Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM):

• The closest airport to Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) is Helsinki Airport (HEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNW of HEM.
• Because of Helsinki-Malmi Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Helsinki-Malmi 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.
• In addition to being known as "Helsinki-Malmi Airport", another name for HEM is "Helsinki-Malmin lentoasemaHelsingfors-Malm flygplats".
• Helsinki-Malmi Airport handled 50 passengers last year.
• Nowadays Malmi Airport is in general aviation use.
• The furthest airport from Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,992 miles (17,691 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM) has 2 runways.
• On 25 March 2014, the Finnish government made a framework decision in principle to close down Malmi Airport and hand it over to residential use by the early 2020s.
• The first land airport of Helsinki, located in Tattarisuo in the township of Malmi, became operational in December 1936.