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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG), Orange, France and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,421 miles (or 8,725 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 Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) 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 Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) 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 Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG):

• The closest airport to Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG) is Avignon - Caumont Airport (AVN), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) S of XOG.
• Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (meaning Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,367 miles (19,903 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115)", another name for XOG is "Base aérienne 115 Orange-Caritat "Capitaine de Seyne"".
• Because of Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115)'s relatively low elevation of 197 feet, planes can take off or land at Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) 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.

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

• The facility first was used by the United States Army Air Forces as Big Spring Army Air Field, opening on 28 April 1942 as part of the Central Flying Training Command.
• 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.
• 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 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 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 airfield and flight line was converted to an uncontrolled/UNICOM-only general aviation airport renamed Big Spring McMahon-Wrinkle Airport, serving the City of Big Spring.
• The Air Force established a standard wing structure—a dual deputy concept—in 1963.