Nonstop flight route between Gisborne, New Zealand and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gisborne Airport (GIS), Gisborne, New Zealand and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,113 miles (or 11,447 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 Gisborne 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 Gisborne 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 Gisborne Airport (GIS):

• On 16 December 2004, Gisborne District Council voted to let Eastland Group manage the airport and lease the assets from 1 April 2005.
• Eastland Group pay's Gisborne District Council an annual rental fee indexed to passenger numbers and is accountable for all capital investment.
• The furthest airport from Gisborne Airport (GIS) is Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC), which is nearly antipodal to Gisborne Airport (meaning Gisborne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Alicante-Elche Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,881 kilometers) away in Alicante, Spain.
• The closest airport to Gisborne Airport (GIS) is Whakatane Airport (WHK), which is located 77 miles (124 kilometers) NW of GIS.
• Gisborne Airport (GIS) has 4 runways.
• Over the next five years, Eastland Group plans to maintain and upgrade the airports existing assets and expand its capabilities.
• Because of Gisborne Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Gisborne 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.

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

• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Emblem of the AAF Bombardier School Big Spring AAF
• 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.