Nonstop flight route between Den Helder, Netherlands and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between De Kooy Airfield (DHR), Den Helder, Netherlands and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,086 miles (or 8,185 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 De Kooy Airfield 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 De Kooy Airfield 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 De Kooy Airfield (DHR):

• Because of De Kooy Airfield's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at De Kooy Airfield 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 De Kooy Airfield (DHR) is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), which is located 43 miles (68 kilometers) S of DHR.
• De Kooy Airfield (DHR) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "De Kooy Airfield", other names for DHR include "Vliegveld De Kooy", "Den Helder Airport" and "Maritiem Vliegkamp De Kooy".
• The furthest airport from De Kooy Airfield (DHR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,805 miles (18,998 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Most movements on the De Kooy are made by helicopters, bringing workers to and from offshore oilrigs and naval helicopters such as the Westland Lynx or NH90 of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
• The oil fields in the North Sea will eventually be depleted and when that happens the airport would lose most of its helicopter movements and thus alternative markets are being looked at, such as business and holiday flights.

Facts about Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS):

• 3560th Pilot Training Wing
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.