Nonstop flight route between Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO), Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,118 miles (or 8,236 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 Dr. Leite Lopes State 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 Dr. Leite Lopes State 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 Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO):

• In 1996 the whole airport complex received its major renovation in which the runway and adjoining taxiway were extended from 1,800m to 2,100m and a new larger apron was built.
• Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport handled 1,077,010 passengers last year.
• The airport is located 18 km from downtown Ribeirão Preto.
• The furthest airport from Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (meaning Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,106 miles (19,482 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
• Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport", another name for RAO is "Aeroporto Estadual Dr. Leite Lopes".
• The closest airport to Dr. Leite Lopes State Airport (RAO) is Ten. Lund Presetto State Airport (FRC), which is located 46 miles (73 kilometers) NE of RAO.

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

• 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.
• 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.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• 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.
• 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 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 base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• 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.