Nonstop flight route between Zabré, Burkina Faso and Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Zabré Airport (XZA), Zabré, Burkina Faso and Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,779 miles (or 7,691 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 Zabré Airport and Westover Air Reserve Base, 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 Zabré Airport and Westover Air Reserve Base. 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 Zabré Airport (XZA):

• Because of Zabré Airport's relatively low elevation of 886 feet, planes can take off or land at Zabré 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 Zabré Airport (XZA) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Zabré Airport (meaning Zabré Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,254 miles (19,721 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.
• The closest airport to Zabré Airport (XZA) is Pô Airport (PUP), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) W of XZA.

Facts about Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• The first organization at the base was the 10th Signal Platoon in June 1940.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• Numerous Airborne Engineer Aviation battalions were activated and trained at Westover, to include the 871st, 872d, 873d, 877th, 878th, 879th, 880th, and 881st.
• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Westover was also the launching point of the heroic Berlin Airlift for 327 days during the Soviet blockade.
• Westover Field was placed under the jurisdiction of the Northeast Air District, later First Air Force, with the 25th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron the main Base Operating Unit.
• Four-engine C-54 Skymaster and shorter-range C-47 Skytrain transports took supplies and reinforcements from Westover to the armed forces and returned with the wounded and discharged troops.
• Detonation in August 1949 by the Soviet Union of an atomic bomb spawned a new strategy in the military, calling for massive retaliation in the event of an attack.
• Since the Constructing Quartermaster had already planned the base, the first permanent masonry buildings were constructed east of the airfield to those designs, which were intended to be lasting and attractive.