Nonstop flight route between Tours, France and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF), Tours, France and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,131 miles (or 8,257 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 Tours Val de Loire 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 Tours Val de Loire 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 Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF):

• The airport is home to around 40 Alpha Jets belonging to the French Air Force, as well as a couple of Mirage fighters as part of the Vigipirate defence plan.
• Because of Tours Val de Loire Airport's relatively low elevation of 357 feet, planes can take off or land at Tours Val de Loire 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 airport once housed the head office of TAT European Airlines.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 357 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Tours Val de Loire Airport (meaning Tours Val de Loire Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,152 miles (19,557 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Tours Val de Loire Airport", another name for TUF is "Aéroport Tours Val de LoireBase Aérienne 604Tours Val de Loire".
• After World War II the airport was used by NATO and the US Air Force before becoming a flying school in the 1950s.
• Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Tours Val de Loire Airport (TUF) is Angers – Loire Airport (ANE), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) W of TUF.

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

• 3560th Pilot Training Wing
• 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.
• 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.
• The facility was brought back into service as a primary training installation because of the Korean War and the need for additional pilots.
• The AT-11 which was activated to replace the separate air and ground units.
• 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.
• Instruction of the first class began in April 1952.