Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Oran, Algeria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF), Oran, Algeria would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,507 miles (or 8,863 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 Oran Tafaraoui 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 Oran Tafaraoui 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF):

• Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Oran Tafaraoui Airport's relatively low elevation of 367 feet, planes can take off or land at Oran Tafaraoui 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 Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF) is Es-Sénia – Ben Bella Airport (ORN), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NW of TAF.
• The furthest airport from Oran Tafaraoui Airport (TAF) is Whakatane Airport (WHK), which is nearly antipodal to Oran Tafaraoui Airport (meaning Oran Tafaraoui Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Whakatane Airport), and is located 12,220 miles (19,666 kilometers) away in Whakatane, New Zealand.
• The new desert Spitfires of the 31st Fighter Group were also assigned to Tafaraoui.