Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and RAAF Learmonth (LEA), Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,155 miles (or 16,343 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 RAAF Learmonth, 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 RAAF Learmonth. 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 AT-11 which was activated to replace the separate air and ground units.
• 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.
• 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.
• Emblem of the AAF Bombardier School Big Spring AAF
• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about RAAF Learmonth (LEA):

• Because of RAAF Learmonth's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at RAAF Learmonth 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 the mid-1960s, the Federal Government gave its support to plans by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Val Hancock, to redevelop Learmonth as a 'bare base', due to its proximity to Indonesia.
• On 7 October 2008, Qantas Flight 72 made an emergency landing at RAAF Learmonth.
• The furthest airport from RAAF Learmonth (LEA) is Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG), which is nearly antipodal to RAAF Learmonth (meaning RAAF Learmonth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport), and is located 12,175 miles (19,594 kilometers) away in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• RAAF Learmonth handled 90,861 passengers last year.
• The RAAF also operates the Learmonth Air Weapons Range which covers about 18,954 ha and is located 30 km south-west of the airbase.
• Learmonth Airport was ranked 49th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2012-2013.
• RAAF Learmonth (LEA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "RAAF Learmonth", another name for LEA is "Learmonth Airport".
• The closest airport to RAAF Learmonth (LEA) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is located 127 miles (204 kilometers) NE of LEA.