Nonstop flight route between Clovis, New Mexico, United States and Bilbao, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF (CVS), Clovis, New Mexico, United States and Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,100 miles (or 8,208 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 Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF and Bilbao 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 Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF and Bilbao 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 Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF (CVS):

• The closest airport to Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF (CVS) is Clovis Municipal Airport (CVN), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) ENE of CVS.
• On 16 April 1945, Clovis AAF was transferred from jurisdiction of Second Air Force to Continental Air Command.
• In addition to being known as "Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF", another name for CVS is "Cannon AFB".
• After a few months of low-level activity, the 388th Fighter-Bomber Wing activated for the first time at Clovis AFB.
• The first USAF unit to use Clovis AFB was the Air National Guard's 140th Fighter-Bomber Wing, which arrived in October 1951 after being activated due to the Korean War.
• The furthest airport from Cannon Air Force Base Clovis Air Force Base/AAF (CVS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,139 miles (17,926 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The 140th returned to Cannon in 1968 as the 140th Tactical Fighter Wing.
• It was assumed that the F-100s would probably not be an effective fighter in air-to-air combat, since it lacked a powerful radar set and could not carry advanced air-to-air weapons.
• The 474th was also equipped with North American F-86H "Sabre".
• The 312th was initially equipped with F-86H Sabres when it activated, however it began to receive the F-100D Super Sabre in December 1956.

Facts about Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• Because of Bilbao Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Bilbao 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.
• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Bilbao Airport (meaning Bilbao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,260 miles (19,730 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• During the eighties, the ILS landing system entered into service for runway 10/28.
• Bilbao Airport handled 3,800,789 passengers last year.
• In 1996, a new taxiway with two rapid exits and a new aircraft parking apron were built.
• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.
• The airport has seen a constant increase in its traffic numbers, the old terminal was already saturated and obsolete in 1990, although it had been renewed only a few years earlier.
• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".