Nonstop flight route between Hoedspruit, South Africa and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from HDS to BIF:
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- About this route
- HDS Airport Information
- BIF Airport Information
- Facts about HDS
- Facts about BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to HDS
- List of Nearest Airports to HDS
- Map of Furthest Airports from HDS
- List of Furthest Airports from HDS
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS), Hoedspruit, South Africa and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,808 miles (or 15,784 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit and Biggs 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 Air Force Base Hoedspruit and Biggs Army Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | HDS / FAHS |
| Airport Name: | Air Force Base Hoedspruit |
| Location: | Hoedspruit, South Africa |
| GPS Coordinates: | 24°21'16"S by 31°3'1"E |
| Operator/Owner: | South African Air Force |
| Airport Type: | Military and Civil |
| Elevation: | 1742 feet (531 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from HDS |
| More Information: | HDS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°50'57"N by 106°22'47"W |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 3946 feet (1,203 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BIF |
| More Information: | BIF Maps & Info |
Facts about Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS):
- The base was officially opened on 1 July 1978.
- Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) is Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NNE of HDS.
- A civil airport terminal, known as the Eastgage Airport, was established at the southern end of the airfield in the early 1990s.
- The furthest airport from Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,932 miles (19,202 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- With the inactivation of the 362d, its personnel and aircraft were assigned to the newly reactivated 20th Fighter Group.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- In 1958, the ability of the B-47 to penetrate Soviet airspace became compromised by improvements to the Soviet air defense system.
- The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- A period of organization and continued construction followed, with II Bomber Command taking over training.
