Nonstop flight route between Maupiti, Leeward Islands, French Polynesia and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maupiti Airport (MAU), Maupiti, Leeward Islands, French Polynesia and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,962 miles (or 7,985 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 Maupiti Airport and Sheppard Air Force 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 Maupiti Airport and Sheppard Air Force 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 Maupiti Airport (MAU):

• The closest airport to Maupiti Airport (MAU) is Bora Bora Airport (BOB), which is located 33 miles (52 kilometers) E of MAU.
• Maupiti Airport (MAU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Maupiti Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Maupiti 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 Maupiti Airport (MAU) is El Debba Airport (EDB), which is nearly antipodal to Maupiti Airport (meaning Maupiti Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from El Debba Airport), and is located 12,198 miles (19,631 kilometers) away in El Debba (Al Dabbah), Sudan.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• Helicopter pilot training was transferred from Stead AFB, Nevada in October 1965, with H-19, H-43, Bell TH-1F, CH-3C and HH-3E helicopters used for training.
• The closest airport to Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS) is Kickapoo Downtown Airport (KIP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) S of SPS.
• The 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
• The furthest airport from Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,952 miles (17,626 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• It was officially opened as an Army Air Corps training center on 17 October 1941, following the arrival of the first military members on 14 June.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• Sheppard Field reached its peak strength of 46,340 people while serving as a separation center for troops being discharged following World War II from September through November 1945.
• The 3630th Flying Training Wing also provided undergraduate pilot training for pilots of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force from 1971 to 1975.
• Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.