Nonstop flight route between Daocheng, Sichuan, China and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY), Daocheng, Sichuan, China and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,955 miles (or 12,803 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 Daocheng Yading 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 Daocheng Yading 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 Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY):

• Because of Daocheng Yading Airport's high elevation of 14,472 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DCY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DCY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport was opened with a single scheduled flight between Daocheng and Chengdu, and flights to Chongqing and Barkam are expected to begin before 1 October 2013.
• Daocheng Yading Airport has a single runway that is 4,200 m long and 45 m wide.
• In addition to being known as "Daocheng Yading Airport", other names for DCY include "稻城亚丁机场", "Dàochéng Yàdīng Jīchǎng" and "ZUDC".
• At 4,411 m above sea level, Daocheng Yading is the world's highest civilian airport, surpassing the previous record holder Qamdo Bamda Airport, in Tibet, at 4,334 m.
• The furthest airport from Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is located 11,910 miles (19,167 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• The closest airport to Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) is Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) SSW of DCY.
• Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) currently has only 1 runway.

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 was activated as Big Spring Air Force Base on 1 October 1951 by the United States Air Force Air Training Command and established the 3560th Pilot Training Wing.
• At Webb AFB, the last two pilot training classes completed course work on 30 August 1977, and fixed wing qualification training ended on 1 September 1977.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• 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.
• 3560th Pilot Training Wing
• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.