Nonstop flight route between Westerland, Germany and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sylt Airport (GWT), Westerland, Germany and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,132 miles (or 8,259 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 Sylt 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 Sylt 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 Sylt Airport (GWT):

• Sylt Airport handled 21,000 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Sylt Airport (GWT) is Vojens Airport (SKS), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) ENE of GWT.
• Because of Sylt Airport's relatively low elevation of 51 feet, planes can take off or land at Sylt 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.
• Sylt Airport (GWT) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Sylt Airport (GWT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,640 miles (18,733 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1990 Sylt Airport received new technical equipment as well as new passenger facilities.
• In addition to being known as "Sylt Airport", another name for GWT is "Flughafen Sylt".

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

• The airfield and flight line was converted to an uncontrolled/UNICOM-only general aviation airport renamed Big Spring McMahon-Wrinkle Airport, serving the City of Big Spring.
• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Webb Air Force Base, previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in west Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring.
• 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.