Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Paris-Orly, Paris, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Paris Orly Airport (ORY), Paris-Orly, Paris, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,150 miles (or 8,288 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 Paris Orly 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 Paris Orly 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 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.
• 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.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• 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 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.
• Webb AFB was turned over to the General Services Agency for disposal on 1 January 1978 and the property later turned over to the Big Spring Industrial Park.
• By the mid-1970s, the end of the Vietnam War, the associated financial costs of that conflict and related cuts in USAF force structure and future defense budgets meant a marked decrease in the need for Air Force pilots.

Facts about Paris Orly Airport (ORY):

• As a result of the Battle of France in 1940, Orly Airport was used by the occupying German Luftwaffe as a combat airfield, stationing various fighter and bomber units at the airport throughout the occupation.
• Paris Orly Airport handled 28,274,154 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Paris Orly Airport", another name for ORY is "Aéroport de Paris-Orly".
• Paris Orly Airport (ORY) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Paris Orly Airport (ORY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Paris Orly Airport (meaning Paris Orly Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,093 miles (19,461 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Paris Orly Airport (ORY) is Toussus-le-Noble Airport (TNF), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) W of ORY.
• The American United States Army Air Forces 1408th Army Air Force Base Unit was the primary operator at Orly Field until March 1947 when control was returned to the French Government.
• The USAAF diagram from March 1947 shows the 6140-foot 27/207 runway with 5170-foot 81/261 runway crossing it at its north end.
• Management of the airport, however, is solely under the authority of Aéroports de Paris, which also manages Charles de Gaulle Airport, Le Bourget Airport, and several smaller airports in the suburbs of Paris.
• Orly Airport is connected to the A106 autoroute.
• Because of Paris Orly Airport's relatively low elevation of 291 feet, planes can take off or land at Paris Orly 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.
• Prior to the construction of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly was the main airport of Paris.