Nonstop flight route between Qingyang, Gansu, China and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Qingyang Airport (IQN), Qingyang, Gansu, China and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,373 miles (or 11,866 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 Qingyang 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 Qingyang 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 Qingyang Airport (IQN):

• The closest airport to Qingyang Airport (IQN) is Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) SE of IQN.
• In addition to being known as "Qingyang Airport", other names for IQN include "庆阳机场" and "Qìngyáng Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Qingyang Airport (IQN) is General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport (YAI), which is nearly antipodal to Qingyang Airport (meaning Qingyang Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from General Bernardo O'Higgins Airport), and is located 12,379 miles (19,922 kilometers) away in Chillán, Ñuble, Chile.

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

• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.