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):

• It lies approximately 272 kilometres, by air, north of Lusaka International Airport, the largest airport in Zambia.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Ndola Airport (NLA) is Southdowns Airport (KIW), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WNW of NLA.
• 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.
• Ndola Airport (NLA) has 2 runways.

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

• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.
• In 1968, ATC established a single phase-pilot training squadron concept at Webb.
• 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.
• Webb AFB was turned over to the General Services Agency for disposal on 1 January 1978 and the property later turned over to the Big Spring Industrial Park.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.