Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Chillán, Ñuble, Chile:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport (YAI), Chillán, Ñuble, Chile would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,121 miles (or 8,242 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 General Bernardo O'Higgins 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 General Bernardo O'Higgins 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 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 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.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• 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 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.

Facts about General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport (YAI):

• General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport (YAI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport's relatively low elevation of 495 feet, planes can take off or land at General Bernardo O'Higgins 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 General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport (YAI) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 59 miles (94 kilometers) WSW of YAI.
• The furthest airport from General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport (YAI) is Qingyang Airport (IQN), which is nearly antipodal to General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport (meaning General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Qingyang Airport), and is located 12,379 miles (19,922 kilometers) away in Qingyang, Gansu, China.