Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RIA to BIF:
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- About this route
- RIA Airport Information
- BIF Airport Information
- Facts about RIA
- Facts about BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to RIA
- List of Nearest Airports to RIA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIA
- List of Furthest Airports from RIA
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (RIA), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,479 miles (or 8,818 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 Santa Maria Airport and Biggs 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 Santa Maria Airport and Biggs Army Airfield. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | RIA / SBSM |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
| GPS Coordinates: | 29°42'38"S by 53°41'31"W |
| Area Served: | Santa Maria |
| Operator/Owner: | Brazilian Air Force |
| Airport Type: | Public/Military |
| Elevation: | 289 feet (88 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RIA |
| More Information: | RIA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°50'57"N by 106°22'47"W |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 3946 feet (1,203 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BIF |
| More Information: | BIF Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (RIA):
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for RIA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is Aguni Airport (AGJ), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aguni Airport), and is located 12,214 miles (19,656 kilometers) away in Aguni, Japan.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (RIA) is João Batista Bos Filho Airport (IJU), which is located 93 miles (150 kilometers) N of RIA.
- Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 289 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria 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.
- In 1944 the President of Brazil Getúlio Vargas allocated an area of 4 million square meters near Santa Maria with the purpose of building an aerodrome.
- Santa Maria Airport (RIA) has 2 runways.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- Biggs Army Airfield, Biggs AAF, Biggs Field, or simply "Biggs" is a military airport located at Fort Bliss in El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, in the United States.
- The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
- Prior to the takeover of Biggs by SAC in October 1948, it had previously moved the B-29 Superfortress-equipped 97th Bombardment Group to the base in May.
- In 1920 Camp Owen Bierne opened on the site of the current airbase as a base for airship operations but the units were soon disbanded.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- Along with the B-50-equipped 97th Bomb Wing, Strategic Air Command established the 95th Bombardment Wing at Biggs in June 1952 and planned to base its heavy B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber at the base.
- The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- In April 1943, the 330th Bombardment Group was established at Biggs to begin replacement training of personnel, rather than the training of entire groups.
