Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Lanzhou, Gansu, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW), Lanzhou, Gansu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,418 miles (or 11,937 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 Lanzhou Zhongchuan 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 Lanzhou Zhongchuan 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):

• Webb Air Force Base, previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in west Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring.
• 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
• 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.
• The Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.
• 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 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.
• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW):

• Because of Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport's high elevation of 6,388 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LHW. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LHW a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is nearly antipodal to Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (meaning Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Carriel Sur International Airport), and is located 12,252 miles (19,718 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport", other names for LHW include "兰州中川机场", "Lánzhōu Zhōngchuān Jīchǎng" and "ZGC".
• The closest airport to Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW) is Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of LHW.
• Taxi service is relatively expensive due to the long distance to the airport, about 150RMB.