Nonstop flight route between Gary, Indiana (near Chicago), United States and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY), Gary, Indiana (near Chicago), United States and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,012 miles (or 1,629 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 Gary/Chicago 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 Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY):

• Expanding Gary/Chicago Airport is an alternative to constructing a new airport near Peotone, Illinois, 30 miles south of Chicago.
• Gary/Chicago International Airport covers 675 acres at an elevation of 591 feet above mean sea level.
• Chicago-based Boeing selected the airport to permanently base its Midwest corporate jet fleet.
• The furthest airport from Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,868 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Gary/Chicago International Airport's relatively low elevation of 591 feet, planes can take off or land at Gary/Chicago International 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.
• Gary/Chicago International Airport was once served by Pan Am, Southeast Airlines, SkyValue Airlines, Skybus Airlines and Hooters Air, with flights to cities such as Hartford, Connecticut.
• The closest airport to Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) is Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) NW of GYY.
• Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) has 2 runways.

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

• 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 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 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.
• 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 facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.