Nonstop flight route between Merauke, Papua, Indonesia and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mopah Airport (MKQ), Merauke, Papua, Indonesia and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,167 miles (or 13,143 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 Mopah 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 Mopah 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 Mopah Airport (MKQ):

• In addition to being known as "Mopah Airport", another name for MKQ is "Bandara Mopah".
• Mopah Airport (MKQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mopah Airport (MKQ) is Bensbach Airport (BSP), which is located 62 miles (99 kilometers) ESE of MKQ.
• Because of Mopah Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Mopah 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 furthest airport from Mopah Airport (MKQ) is Parnaíba–Prefeito Dr. João Silva Filho International Airport (PHB), which is located 11,634 miles (18,724 kilometers) away in Parnaiba, Piaui, Brazil.

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

• The AT-11 which was activated to replace the separate air and ground units.
• 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 its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• 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 facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• 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.
• 3560th Pilot Training Wing