Nonstop flight route between Columbus, Mississippi, United States and Big Lake, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States and Big Lake Airport (BGQ), Big Lake, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,273 miles (or 5,268 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 Columbus Air Force Base and Big Lake 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 Columbus Air Force Base and Big Lake 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 Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• On 8 January 1943, the War Department constituted and activated the 30th Flying Training Wing at Columbus and assigned it to the AAF Eastern Flying Training Command.
• The 454th Bombardment Wing completed more than 100 missions to South Vietnam without losing a single bomber to enemy aircraft fire.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".
• The first KC-135 Stratotanker, piloted by the wing commander, landed on the new runway on 7 January 1959.
• The school used a number of trainers, including the AT-8, AT-9, AT-10, and B-25.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Columbus AFB was established in 1941 as Air Corps Advanced Flying School, Columbus, Mississippi.
• As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 1,373 people residing on the base.
• The citizens' efforts bore fruit.
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.

Facts about Big Lake Airport (BGQ):

• The furthest airport from Big Lake Airport (BGQ) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,522 miles (16,934 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Big Lake Airport (BGQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Big Lake Airport's relatively low elevation of 158 feet, planes can take off or land at Big Lake 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 Big Lake Airport (BGQ) is Wasilla Airport (WWA), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) ENE of BGQ.