Nonstop flight route between Vardø, Norway and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW), Vardø, Norway and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,972 miles (or 8,001 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 Vardø Airport, Svartnes 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 Vardø Airport, Svartnes 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 Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW):

• The wooden runway was pillaged by locals to accumulate building materials for reconstruction.
• Because of Vardø Airport, Svartnes's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Vardø Airport, Svartnes 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.
• Vardø Airport, Svartnes handled 14,664 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,373 miles (16,694 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Svartnes was constructed by the Luftwaffe during the German occupation of Norway during World War II.
• In addition to being known as "Vardø Airport, Svartnes", another name for VAW is "Vardø Lufthavn, Svartnes".
• The airport is served by Widerøe with 39-seat Dash 8-100 aircraft connecting the community to Tromsø, Kirkenes and other communities in Finnmark.
• The first plans for a civilian airport at Svartnes was launched by Varangfly, later renamed Norving, in 1964.
• The closest airport to Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 34 miles (56 kilometers) SW of VAW.
• On 5 March 1978 the Partenavian P.68 LN-MAD operated by Norving crashed at Falkefjell during approach to Vadsø Airport.

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

• 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.
• 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.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• At Webb AFB, the last two pilot training classes completed course work on 30 August 1977, and fixed wing qualification training ended on 1 September 1977.
• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• 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 Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.
• In August 1972, ATC established a pilot instructor training course for Vietnamese Air Force instructors at Webb AFB, Texas.