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):
- Air Force Base Hoedspruit is an airbase of the South African Air Force.
- 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.
- A civil airport terminal, known as the Eastgage Airport, was established at the southern end of the airfield in the early 1990s.
- The base gained international media attention in 2000, when it hosted the United States Air Force's rescue contingent as part of Operation Atlas Response, the mission to provide rescue and humanitarian support to areas of Mozambique devastated by the severe flooding caused by Cyclone Eline.
- Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS) has 2 runways.
- The base motto is Pro Nostrorum Pace.
- 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.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- What is now Biggs Army Airfield started life in 1915 as an encampment at Fort Bliss, Texas for the 82d Field Artillery.
- With the arrival of the 95th Bomb Wing in June 1952, the host unit at Biggs was changed to the SAC 810th Air Division, which operationally controlled both the 97th and 95th Bombardment Wings.
- 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.
- 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.
- While in Alaska, the 97th Bombardment Wing had been activated under the Hobson Plan, and the 97th Bomb Group became a subordinate organization under the wing.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- Enough construction was completed by the late summer of 1942, to allow the 303d Bombardment Group to began training with B-17Fs under Second Air Force on 7 August.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- With the inactivation of the 362d, its personnel and aircraft were assigned to the newly reactivated 20th Fighter Group.
