Nonstop flight route between Somerset, Kentucky, United States and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME), Somerset, Kentucky, United States and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,016 miles (or 1,635 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 relatively short distance between Lake Cumberland Regional Airport and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME):

• The closest airport to Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME) is London-Corbin Airport (LOZ), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) E of SME.
• The furthest airport from Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,309 miles (18,200 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport was renamed in 2008.
• Lake Cumberland Regional Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles south of the central business district of Somerset, a city in Pulaski County, Kentucky, United States.
• Because of Lake Cumberland Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 927 feet, planes can take off or land at Lake Cumberland Regional 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.
• Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME) currently has only 1 runway.

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

• Emblem of the AAF Bombardier School Big Spring AAF
• 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.
• In its continuing effort to cut costs, ATC made some major changes in the undergraduate pilot training program.
• Webb Air Force Base, previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in west Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring.
• 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.
• 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.
• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• 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 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.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.