Nonstop flight route between Kitwe, Zambia and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from KIW to BIF:
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- About this route
- KIW Airport Information
- BIF Airport Information
- Facts about KIW
- Facts about BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to KIW
- List of Nearest Airports to KIW
- Map of Furthest Airports from KIW
- List of Furthest Airports from KIW
- 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 Southdowns Airport (KIW), Kitwe, Zambia and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,280 miles (or 14,934 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 Southdowns 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 Southdowns 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: | KIW / FLSO |
Airport Name: | Southdowns Airport |
Location: | Kitwe, Zambia |
GPS Coordinates: | 12°54'1"S by 28°8'58"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4145 feet (1,263 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from KIW |
More Information: | KIW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
Airport Names: |
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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 Southdowns Airport (KIW):
- The furthest airport from Southdowns Airport (KIW) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,920 miles (19,184 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
- Because of Southdowns Airport's high elevation of 4,145 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KIW. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KIW a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Southdowns Airport (KIW) is Kasompe Airport (CGJ), which is located 28 miles (46 kilometers) NW of KIW.
- Southdowns Airport (KIW) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (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.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- After World War II, B-29 Superfortress personnel replacement training ended in October.
- In April 1943, the airfield came under the command of the Second Air Force and became headquarters for the XX Bomber Command.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- 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.
- 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.
- Along with the B-50-equipped 97th Bomb Wing, Strategic Air Command established the 95th Bombardment Wing at Biggs in June 1952 and planned to base its heavy B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber at the base.
- A period of organization and continued construction followed, with II Bomber Command taking over training.