Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Istanbul, Turkey:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST), Istanbul, Turkey would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,471 miles (or 10,414 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 Istanbul Atatürk 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 Istanbul Atatürk 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):

• 3560th Pilot Training Wing
• 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 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 its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• 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.

Facts about Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST):

• TAV started its construction at the airport for new boarding gates at international terminal as well as building a new air traffic control tower.
• Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Istanbul Atatürk Airport", another name for IST is "İstanbul Atatürk Havalimanı".
• The furthest airport from Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,155 miles (17,953 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) is İstanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ESE of IST.
• The Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers lists Atatürk International Airport as one of the fifty civil engineering feats in Turkey, a list of remarkable engineering projects completed in the first 50 years of the chamber's existence.
• Because of Istanbul Atatürk Airport's relatively low elevation of 163 feet, planes can take off or land at Istanbul Atatürk 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.