Nonstop flight route between Jolo, Sulu, Philippines and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jolo Airport (JOL), Jolo, Sulu, Philippines and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,589 miles (or 13,823 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 Jolo 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 Jolo 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 Jolo Airport (JOL):

• Jolo Airport handled 18,749 passengers last year.
• Because of Jolo Airport's relatively low elevation of 118 feet, planes can take off or land at Jolo 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.
• At the end of the war, the airport, then owned by the United States military, was turned over to the Sulu provincial government.
• The furthest airport from Jolo Airport (JOL) is Maués Airport (MBZ), which is nearly antipodal to Jolo Airport (meaning Jolo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maués Airport), and is located 12,231 miles (19,683 kilometers) away in Maués, Amazonas, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Jolo Airport (JOL) is Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM), which is located 94 miles (151 kilometers) NE of JOL.
• On December 14, 2009, then former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and ex-US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie A.
• In addition to being known as "Jolo Airport", another name for JOL is "Paliparan ng Jolo".
• Jolo Airport (JOL) currently has only 1 runway.

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.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• 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.
• The AT-11 which was activated to replace the separate air and ground units.
• 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.
• Emblem of the AAF Bombardier School Big Spring AAF
• In 1968, ATC established a single phase-pilot training squadron concept at Webb.
• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• The Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.