Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BGS to SPN:
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- About this route
- BGS Airport Information
- SPN Airport Information
- Facts about BGS
- Facts about SPN
- Map of Nearest Airports to BGS
- List of Nearest Airports to BGS
- Map of Furthest Airports from BGS
- List of Furthest Airports from BGS
- Map of Nearest Airports to SPN
- List of Nearest Airports to SPN
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPN
- List of Furthest Airports from SPN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Saipan International Airport (SPN), Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,922 miles (or 11,140 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 Saipan International 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 Saipan International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BGS / |
Airport Name: | Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield |
Location: | Big Spring, Texas, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°13'5"N by 101°31'17"W |
View all routes: | Routes from BGS |
More Information: | BGS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SPN / PGSN |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 15°7'8"N by 145°43'45"E |
Operator/Owner: | Commonwealth Ports Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 215 feet (66 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SPN |
More Information: | SPN Maps & Info |
Facts about Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (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.
- In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
- Big Spring Army Airfield
- Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
- 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.
- At that time, nearly 6,000 students had graduated and the field's training aircraft had flown approximately 400,000 hours and more than 60 million miles.
- 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 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.
- Emblem of the AAF Bombardier School Big Spring AAF
Facts about Saipan International Airport (SPN):
- The furthest airport from Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Saipan International Airport (meaning Saipan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,125 miles (19,514 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
- Saipan International Airport (SPN) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Saipan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Saipan International 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.
- The closest airport to Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Tinian International Airport (TIQ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of SPN.
- Saipan International Airport commenced operation on 25 July 1976 taking over from the nearby Kobler Field.Continental Micronesia initially had its main hub at Kobler Field and then Saipan Airport.
- In addition to being known as "Saipan International Airport", other names for SPN include "Francisco C. Ada Airport" and "GSN".
- After several months of disappointing high level bombing attacks from Isely, General Curtis LeMay, Commander of Twentieth Air Force issued a new directive that the high-altitude, daylight attacks be phased out and replaced by low-altitude, high-intensity incendiary raids at nighttime, being followed up with high explosive bombs once the targets were set ablaze.
- Saipan International Airport covers an area of 734 acres which contains one paved runway measuring 8,700 x 200 ft.
- In 2005, Japan Airlines suspended its services from Japan to SPN.