Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Eastleigh (near Southampton), England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Southampton Airport (SOU), Eastleigh (near Southampton), England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,929 miles (or 7,932 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 Southampton 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 Southampton 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Southampton Airport (SOU):

• The airport handled 1,722,758 passengers during 2013, a 1.7% increase compared with 2012, making it the 18th busiest airport in the UK.
• The closest airport to Southampton Airport (SOU) is Lasham Airfield (QLA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) NE of SOU.
• On 5 March 1936 the first test flight of the Supermarine Spitfire took place at the airport, an event commemorated in 2004 by the erection of a near-full size sculpture of K5054, the prototype Spitfire, at the road entrance.
• Because of Southampton Airport's relatively low elevation of 44 feet, planes can take off or land at Southampton 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.
• In 1932 Southampton Corporation purchased the site and it became "Southampton Municipal Airport".
• Southampton Airport handled 1,722,758 passengers last year.
• The airport is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings, which also owns and operates three other UK airports, and is itself owned by FGP TopCo Limited, an international consortium, which includes Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and GIC Special Investments, that is led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group.
• Southampton Airport is served by a dedicated mainline railway station, Southampton Airport Parkway.
• The airport is also located close to the junction between the M3 motorway and M27 motorway, giving easy road access to Southampton, Winchester, Bournemouth, Poole, Portsmouth and places between.
• In 1936 Supermarine opened a test flight facility on the site, followed shortly thereafter by the opening of the Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft factory on the southern end of the runway.
• The furthest airport from Southampton Airport (SOU) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,918 miles (19,179 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• During the First World War, when forces from the United States Navy arrived in 1917, work on the building of hangars began.
• Southampton Airport (SOU) currently has only 1 runway.