Nonstop flight route between El Paso, Texas, United States and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between El Paso International Airport (ELP), El Paso, Texas, United States and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 286 miles (or 460 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 relatively short distance between El Paso International Airport and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about El Paso International Airport (ELP):

• The closest airport to El Paso International Airport (ELP) is Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) N of ELP.
• Airport diagram for January 1963
• The Airport access road is Convair Road.
• El Paso International Airport handled 3,065,393 passengers last year.
• El Paso International Airport (ELP) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from El Paso International Airport (ELP) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,389 miles (18,329 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• During World War II, the airport was a United States Army Air Forces training base.

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

• 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 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 base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• 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 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 its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• 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.
• 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.
• Perhaps the most dominant feature on the ATC landscape in 1974 was the serious fuel shortage the command had to contend with for much of the year.