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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Greymouth Airport (GMN), Greymouth, New Zealand and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,551 miles (or 12,153 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 Greymouth 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 Greymouth 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 Greymouth Airport (GMN):

• The furthest airport from Greymouth Airport (GMN) is Vigo Airport (VGO), which is nearly antipodal to Greymouth Airport (meaning Greymouth Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Vigo Airport), and is located 12,418 miles (19,985 kilometers) away in Vigo, Galicia, Spain.
• Greymouth Airport (GMN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Greymouth Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Greymouth 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 Greymouth Airport (GMN) is Hokitika Airport (HKK), which is located 20 miles (33 kilometers) SSW of GMN.

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

• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• 78th Flying Training Wing
• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Big Spring Army Airfield
• 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.
• 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.