Nonstop flight route between Timbuktu, Mali and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Timbuktu Airport (TOM), Timbuktu, Mali and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,086 miles (or 9,794 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 Timbuktu 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 Timbuktu 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 Timbuktu Airport (TOM):

• In addition to being known as "Timbuktu Airport", another name for TOM is "Tombouctou Airport".
• Because of Timbuktu Airport's relatively low elevation of 863 feet, planes can take off or land at Timbuktu 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.
• The furthest airport from Timbuktu Airport (TOM) is Yasawa Island Airport (YAS), which is nearly antipodal to Timbuktu Airport (meaning Timbuktu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Yasawa Island Airport), and is located 12,400 miles (19,956 kilometers) away in Yasawa Island, Fiji.
• Timbuktu Airport (TOM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Timbuktu Airport (TOM) is Goundam Airport (GUD), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) WSW of TOM.

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

• 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.
• 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
• 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.
• In 1968, ATC established a single phase-pilot training squadron concept at Webb.
• The airfield was activated as Big Spring Air Force Base on 1 October 1951 by the United States Air Force Air Training Command and established the 3560th Pilot Training Wing.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• 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.
• 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.