Nonstop flight route between Dole, France and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dole - Jura Airport (DLE), Dole, France and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,332 miles (or 8,581 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 Dole - Jura 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 Dole - Jura 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 Dole - Jura Airport (DLE):

• Dole - Jura Airport (DLE) has 2 runways.
• During World War II the airport was used by the German Luftwaffe during the occupation of France as an Air intelligence training facility.
• In addition to being known as "Dole - Jura Airport", other names for DLE include "Aéroport de Dole - Jura" and "(Advanced Landing Ground Y-7)".
• The closest airport to Dole - Jura Airport (DLE) is Dijon Air Base (DIJ), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NW of DLE.
• Because of Dole - Jura Airport's relatively low elevation of 645 feet, planes can take off or land at Dole - Jura 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 furthest airport from Dole - Jura Airport (DLE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Dole - Jura Airport (meaning Dole - Jura Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,195 miles (19,626 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• With the end of the war in Europe in May, 1945 the Americans began to withdraw their aircraft and personnel.
• Today, the airport's World War II history remains with the alert pads built by the Germans at each end of the main runway.

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

• The Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• Webb AFB was turned over to the General Services Agency for disposal on 1 January 1978 and the property later turned over to the Big Spring Industrial Park.
• Webb Air Force Base, previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in west Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring.
• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• 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.
• By the mid-1970s, the end of the Vietnam War, the associated financial costs of that conflict and related cuts in USAF force structure and future defense budgets meant a marked decrease in the need for Air Force pilots.
• In 1956, the Air Defense Command 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was transferred to Webb from Stewart Air Force Base in New York to defend the southern United States border on air intercept missions as part of the Central Air Defense Force.
• 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.