Nonstop flight route between Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF), Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,944 miles (or 7,956 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 Hatfield Aerodrome 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 Hatfield Aerodrome 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 Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF):

• Because of Hatfield Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 254 feet, planes can take off or land at Hatfield Aerodrome 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 full trail is around 4 km long and takes around 90 minutes to walk.
• In 1992, due to severe financial problems, British Aerospace announced the cessation of aircraft production at Hatfield from 1993.
• The closest airport to Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF) is London Luton Airport (LTN), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NNW of HTF.
• Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF) has 2 runways.
• A hard runway was laid in 1947.
• The furthest airport from Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,860 miles (19,086 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• The Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.
• The facility first was used by the United States Army Air Forces as Big Spring Army Air Field, opening on 28 April 1942 as part of the Central Flying Training Command.
• 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 airfield was activated as Big Spring Air Force Base on 1 October 1951 by the United States Air Force Air Training Command and established the 3560th Pilot Training Wing.
• 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.