Nonstop flight route between Ndola, Zambia and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ndola Airport (NLA), Ndola, Zambia and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,029 miles (or 14,531 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 Ndola 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 Ndola 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 Ndola Airport (NLA):

• Ndola Airport (NLA) has 2 runways.
• It lies approximately 272 kilometres, by air, north of Lusaka International Airport, the largest airport in Zambia.
• The furthest airport from Ndola Airport (NLA) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,911 miles (19,170 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Ndola Airport (NLA) is Southdowns Airport (KIW), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WNW of NLA.
• Because of Ndola Airport's high elevation of 4,170 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at NLA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make NLA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

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

• 3560th Pilot Training Wing
• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Perhaps the most dominant feature on the ATC landscape in 1974 was the serious fuel shortage the command had to contend with for much of the year.
• 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 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.
• Big Spring Army Airfield
• 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.