Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Kuopio / Siilinjärvi, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Kuopio Airport (KUO), Kuopio / Siilinjärvi, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,292 miles (or 8,517 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 Kuopio 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 Kuopio 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 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.
• 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 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.
• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• 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.
• 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.
• 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

Facts about Kuopio Airport (KUO):

• The closest airport to Kuopio Airport (KUO) is Varkaus Airport (VRK), which is located 58 miles (93 kilometers) S of KUO.
• Kuopio Airport (KUO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kuopio Airport handled 253,612 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Kuopio Airport (KUO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,797 miles (17,377 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Kuopio Airport is also home of the Finnish Air Force's Karelian Air Command and the Fighter Squadron 31.
• Because of Kuopio Airport's relatively low elevation of 323 feet, planes can take off or land at Kuopio 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.
• Kuopio Airport was completed in November 1939 and flight operations started in May 1940.
• In addition to being known as "Kuopio Airport", another name for KUO is "Kuopion lentoasema".