Nonstop flight route between Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dortmund Airport (DTM), Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,239 miles (or 8,432 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 Dortmund 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 Dortmund 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 Dortmund Airport (DTM):

• Dortmund Airport (DTM) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Dortmund Airport", another name for DTM is "Flughafen Dortmund".
• The furthest airport from Dortmund Airport (DTM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,872 miles (19,106 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Dortmund Airport's relatively low elevation of 425 feet, planes can take off or land at Dortmund 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.
• Since 2006 it has been carrying the name "Dortmund Airport 21", in reference to the fact that Dortmund's utility company, DSW21, is its major shareholder.
• The airport, originally located in the suburb of Brackel, was first served by commercial flights in 1925 by Aero Lloyd, which operated flights to Paris.
• The closest airport to Dortmund Airport (DTM) is Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) WSW of DTM.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Construction of the Army Air Forces Bombardier School began on 15 May 1942, and the airfield received its first class of cadets on 16 September 1942.
• The Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.