Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL), Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,212 miles (or 8,388 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 Kiel Holtenau 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 Kiel Holtenau 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 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.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL):

• Because of Kiel Holtenau Airport's relatively low elevation of 101 feet, planes can take off or land at Kiel Holtenau 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.
• There are currently no scheduled services to and from Kiel Airport.
• Luftsportverein Kiel e.V.
• However, use of the airport declined in the following years as more and more scheduled flight routes were discontinued.
• Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Kiel Holtenau Airport", another name for KEL is "Flughafen Kiel-Holtenau".
• The aerodrome was built in 1914 on a plain area that had been created from material dug out during the construction of the Kiel Canal.
• The furthest airport from Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,649 miles (18,747 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Further, German Air Force aircraft operating as fake targets for practice depart from Kiel Airport.
• The closest airport to Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) is Sønderborg Airport (SGD), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) NNW of KEL.