Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Vilhelmina, Sweden:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Vilhelmina Airport (VHM), Vilhelmina, Sweden would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,975 miles (or 8,006 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 Vilhelmina 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 Vilhelmina 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):

• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• 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.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• 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.
• 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 facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• 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 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
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• The AT-11 which was activated to replace the separate air and ground units.

Facts about Vilhelmina Airport (VHM):

• The furthest airport from Vilhelmina Airport (VHM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,912 miles (17,561 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Vilhelmina Airport (VHM) is Lycksele Airport (LYC), which is located 56 miles (90 kilometers) E of VHM.
• Vilhelmina Airport (VHM) currently has only 1 runway.