Nonstop flight route between Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH), Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 511 miles (or 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 relatively short distance between Lake Charles Regional Airport and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH):

• The airport has two runways.
• Historically, Lake Charles was served by Eastern Airlines during the 1950s with Martin 4-0-4 and Convair 340 twin prop "Silver Falcon" airliner flights to Houston via Beaumont/Port Arthur and also to Baton Rouge and New Orleans via Lafayette.
• The closest airport to Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH) is Chennault International Airport (CWF), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) NE of LCH.
• The furthest airport from Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,040 miles (17,767 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• In later years, Trans-Texas Airways served the airport with Convair 600 turboprop flights primarily to Houston and New Orleans.
• Because of Lake Charles Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Lake Charles Regional 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.
• Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH) has 2 runways.
• A large number of helicopters are based at LCH and serve both the petroleum industry in the Gulf and other purposes.

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

• 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.
• 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.
• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.
• 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 airfield and flight line was converted to an uncontrolled/UNICOM-only general aviation airport renamed Big Spring McMahon-Wrinkle Airport, serving the City of Big Spring.
• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• 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.