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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (XMU), Moulins, Allier, France and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,272 miles (or 8,484 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 Moulins - Montbeugny 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 Moulins - Montbeugny 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 Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (XMU):

• Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (XMU) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (XMU) is Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport (CFE), which is located 53 miles (86 kilometers) SSW of XMU.
• Because of Moulins - Montbeugny Airport's relatively low elevation of 915 feet, planes can take off or land at Moulins - Montbeugny 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.
• In addition to being known as "Moulins - Montbeugny Airport", another name for XMU is "Aérodrome de Moulins - Montbeugny".
• The furthest airport from Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (XMU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Moulins - Montbeugny Airport (meaning Moulins - Montbeugny Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,248 miles (19,712 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

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

• 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.
• 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.
• In 1956, the Air Defense Command 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was transferred to Webb from Stewart Air Force Base in New York to defend the southern United States border on air intercept missions as part of the Central Air Defense Force.
• 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.
• Emblem of the AAF Bombardier School Big Spring AAF
• Construction of the Army Air Forces Bombardier School began on 15 May 1942, and the airfield received its first class of cadets on 16 September 1942.