Nonstop flight route between Mandritsara, Madagascar and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WMA to BIF:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- WMA Airport Information
- BIF Airport Information
- Facts about WMA
- Facts about BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to WMA
- List of Nearest Airports to WMA
- Map of Furthest Airports from WMA
- List of Furthest Airports from WMA
- 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 Mandritsara Airport (WMA), Mandritsara, Madagascar and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,526 miles (or 16,941 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 Mandritsara 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 Mandritsara 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: | WMA / FMNX |
| Airport Name: | Mandritsara Airport |
| Location: | Mandritsara, Madagascar |
| GPS Coordinates: | 15°49'1"S by 48°49'58"E |
| Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
| View all routes: | Routes from WMA |
| More Information: | WMA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
| Airport Names: |
|
| 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 Mandritsara Airport (WMA):
- Because of Mandritsara Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Mandritsara 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 Mandritsara Airport (WMA) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,054 miles (17,790 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
- The closest airport to Mandritsara Airport (WMA) is Port Bergé Airport (WPB), which is located 82 miles (133 kilometers) W of WMA.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- In April 1943, the 330th Bombardment Group was established at Biggs to begin replacement training of personnel, rather than the training of entire groups.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- Biggs Field is now the home of the United States Army 1st Armored Division.
- The 97th Air Refueling Squadron, activated in March 1949, saw its manning increase as it received its first KB-29P in January 1950.
- The 97th operated B-29s from Biggs, and participated in numerous exercises, operational readiness inspections, and overseas deployments.
- After World War II, B-29 Superfortress personnel replacement training ended in October.
- Beginning in 1959, the B-36s were sent to Davis-Monthan AFB for reclamation as B-52B Stratofortresses began to arrive, being transferred from the 99th Bombardment Wing at Westover AFB, Massachusetts which was receiving new B-52Ds.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
