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: |
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| 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 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 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.
- The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
- In 1968, ATC established a single phase-pilot training squadron concept at Webb.
- 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.
- The Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.
- 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 Saipan International Airport (SPN):
- Once in American hands, Isely Field was expanded considerably to support Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortress operations.
- 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 (SPN) currently has only 1 runway.
- With the end of the war the wing's four bomb groups were all returned to the United States, with their B-29s either being flown to Clark Air Base in the Philippines for scrapping, or were flown to storage facilities in Texas or Arizona.
- On 12 October 1944 the first B-29 Joltin Josie The Pacific Pioneer piloted by Brigadier General Haywood S.
- In 2005, Japan Airlines suspended its services from Japan to SPN.
- A Star Marianas plane crashed during takeoff on November 17, 2012 on its return from Tinian.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Saipan International Airport", other names for SPN include "Francisco C. Ada Airport" and "GSN".
- Saipan International Airport covers an area of 734 acres which contains one paved runway measuring 8,700 x 200 ft.
