Nonstop flight route between Derby, Western Australia, Australia and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Derby Airport (DRB), Derby, Western Australia, Australia and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,448 miles (or 15,205 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 Derby 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 Derby 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 Derby Airport (DRB):

• Derby Airport (DRB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Derby Airport (DRB) is Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet Airport (PTP), which is nearly antipodal to Derby Airport (meaning Derby Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet Airport), and is located 12,085 miles (19,449 kilometers) away in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe.
• Because of Derby Airport's relatively low elevation of 24 feet, planes can take off or land at Derby 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 closest airport to Derby Airport (DRB) is Broome International Airport (BME), which is located 102 miles (165 kilometers) WSW of DRB.

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

• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• 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.
• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.