Nonstop flight route between Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN), Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,248 miles (or 8,446 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 Cologne/Bonn Airport and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield, 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 Cologne/Bonn Airport and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield. 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 Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN):

• Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) has 3 runways.
• After World War II the British military took over and expanded the airport.
• In 1913 the first plane took off from the Wahner Heide military training area on an artillery reconnaissance flight.
• The furthest airport from Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,921 miles (19,185 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport has its own exit on motorway A59 which links it to the city centres of Cologne and Bonn as well as the Ruhrgebiet.
• In addition to being known as "Cologne/Bonn Airport", another name for CGN is "Flughafen Köln/Bonn".
• The closest airport to Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) NNW of CGN.
• In April 2014 Ryanair announced the opening of their fifth German base at Cologne/Bonn Airport for October 2014.
• Cologne/Bonn Airport handled 9,280,070 passengers last year.
• Because of Cologne/Bonn Airport's relatively low elevation of 302 feet, planes can take off or land at Cologne/Bonn 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.
• During the 50s and 60s two more runways and a new terminal were constructed.
• In 2006 the Brazilian airline BRA provided a twice a week connection to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, which was discontinued in April 2007 due to problems with the airline.

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.
• 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.
• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• 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.
• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• The Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.