Nonstop flight route between Hawker, South Australia, Australia and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from HWK to BIF:
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- About this route
- HWK Airport Information
- BIF Airport Information
- Facts about HWK
- Facts about BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to HWK
- List of Nearest Airports to HWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from HWK
- List of Furthest Airports from HWK
- 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 Wilpena Pound (HWK), Hawker, South Australia, Australia and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,680 miles (or 13,970 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 Wilpena Pound 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 Wilpena Pound 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: | HWK / YHAW |
| Airport Name: | Wilpena Pound |
| Location: | Hawker, South Australia, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°33'32"S by 138°34'26"E |
| Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
| View all routes: | Routes from HWK |
| More Information: | HWK 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 Wilpena Pound (HWK):
- The wall of mountains almost completely encircles the gently-sloping interior of the Pound, with the only breaks being the gorge at Wilpena Gap and a high saddle in the south-western range over which the Heysen Trail passes.
- Because of Wilpena Pound's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilpena Pound 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 furthest airport from Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located 11,642 miles (18,736 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
- In an attempt to sort out their conflicting claims over the pastoral lease, Bonney and Surveyor-General Henry Freeling employed H.C.
- The closest airport to Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Leigh Creek Airport (LGH), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) N of HWK.
- Wilpena Pound is one of the most popular sites in the Flinders Ranges for international tourists to visit the outback because of the large development that has occurred at the Wilpena Pound Resort on the eastern side of Wilpena Pound and Rawnsley Park Station on the western side.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- After World War II, B-29 Superfortress personnel replacement training ended in October.
- 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.
- In April 1943, the airfield came under the command of the Second Air Force and became headquarters for the XX Bomber Command.
- In August 1953, the first B-36D arrived at Biggs, although the majority of aircraft received were the later-model B-36J-III models with a higher operational ceiling, strengthened landing gear, increased fuel capacity, armament reduced to tail guns only and reduced crew.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- A period of organization and continued construction followed, with II Bomber Command taking over training.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- Beginning in 1950, the 97th Bomb Wing received its first B-50 Superfortress, an improved version of the B-29 capable of delivering atomic weapons.
