Nonstop flight route between Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, United Kingdom and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Isle of Man Airport (IOM), Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, United Kingdom and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,709 miles (or 7,578 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 Isle of Man Airport 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 Isle of Man Airport 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 Isle of Man Airport (IOM):

• The closest airport to Isle of Man Airport (IOM) is Barrow/Walney Island Airport (BWF), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) E of IOM.
• A project by Ellis Brown Architects began in November 1998 to extend the airport and improve the facilities available to passengers.
• Isle of Man Airport handled 739,683 passengers last year.
• The airfield was used by № 1 GDGS operating Westland Wallace aircraft, the drogues from these aircraft being fired on from gun emplacements on St Michael's Isle and Santon Head.
• The furthest airport from Isle of Man Airport (IOM) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Citywing has its head office in Hangar 9 at the airport.
• In addition to being known as "Isle of Man Airport", another name for IOM is "Purt Aer Vannin".
• Isle of Man Airport (IOM) has 2 runways.
• Because of Isle of Man Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Isle of Man 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.
• Commissioned as HMS Urley by the Admiralty on 21 June 1944, with accounts handled by HMS Valkyrie, flying recommenced on 15 July 1944.

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

• 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.
• Construction of the Army Air Forces Bombardier School began on 15 May 1942, and the airfield received its first class of cadets on 16 September 1942.
• In 1956, the Air Defense Command 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was transferred to Webb from Stewart Air Force Base in New York to defend the southern United States border on air intercept missions as part of the Central Air Defense Force.
• 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• 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.
• 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.
• At Webb AFB, the last two pilot training classes completed course work on 30 August 1977, and fixed wing qualification training ended on 1 September 1977.
• 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.
• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.