Nonstop flight route between Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sumburgh Airport (LSI), Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,651 miles (or 7,484 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 Sumburgh 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 Sumburgh 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 Sumburgh Airport (LSI):

• HIAL receives subsidies from the Scottish Ministers in accordance with Section 34 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 and is sponsored by the Transport Directorate which is one of the Finance and Sustainable Growth Directorates of the Scottish Government.
• The furthest airport from Sumburgh Airport (LSI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,442 miles (18,414 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Sumburgh Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Sumburgh 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 former RAF Sumburgh airfield had two runways, the longest being 800 yd, and the shorter running a length of 600 yd from shore-line to shore-line.
• Sumburgh Links was surveyed and the grass strips laid out by Capt.
• Sumburgh Airport (LSI) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Sumburgh Airport (LSI) is Tingwall Airport (LWK), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) N of LSI.

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

• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.
• 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.
• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• 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.
• 78th Flying Training Wing
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.