Nonstop flight route between Gush Katif, Israel and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK), Gush Katif, Israel and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,180 miles (or 11,555 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK):

• Because of Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport's relatively low elevation of 107 feet, planes can take off or land at Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif 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 Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) is Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) S of GHK.
• After the 1948 Palestinian exodus 35,000 refugees took shelter in a camp to the south of the present day airfield.
• Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the Second World War RAF Gaza was used by a number of RAF squadrons, including 33, 45, 127, 208, 318 and 451.

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

• 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 Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.
• 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 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• 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.
• Emblem of the AAF Bombardier School Big Spring AAF
• 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.