Nonstop flight route between Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE), Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,195 miles (or 11,579 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 Kieta/Aropa 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 Kieta/Aropa 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 Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE):

• In addition to being known as "Kieta/Aropa Airport", another name for KIE is "AYIQ".
• Because of Kieta/Aropa Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kieta/Aropa 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.
• The closest airport to Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is Balalae Airport (BAS), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) SSE of KIE.
• The furthest airport from Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,844 miles (19,061 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• After World War II the airport became one of Bougainville's main airports.
• Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Nowadays the airfield is disused and overgrown with bush.

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.
• The Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.
• 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.
• Emblem of the AAF Bombardier School Big Spring AAF
• 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.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• 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.