Nonstop flight route between Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BEX to SPS:
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- About this route
- BEX Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about BEX
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to BEX
- List of Nearest Airports to BEX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BEX
- List of Furthest Airports from BEX
- Map of Nearest Airports to SPS
- List of Nearest Airports to SPS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPS
- List of Furthest Airports from SPS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,710 miles (or 7,580 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 RAF Benson 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 RAF Benson 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BEX / EGUB |
Airport Name: | RAF Benson |
Location: | Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°36'59"N by 1°5'44"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from BEX |
More Information: | BEX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SPS / KSPS |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Wichita Falls, Texas, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°59'20"N by 98°29'30"W |
View all routes: | Routes from SPS |
More Information: | SPS Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):
- The Battles were replaced in December 1940 with Vickers Wellington medium bombers.
- The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
- The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- During World War II, then-Sheppard Field conducted basic training, and it also trained glider mechanics, technical and flying training instructors and B-29 Superfortress flight engineers.
- The Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program announced on 13 May 2005.
- Over the next three decades three training schools were stationed at the base training students in aircraft maintenance, transportation, communication, civil engineering, Aircrew Life Support and field training.
- Control and accountability for Sheppard Field was transferred to the Department of the Air Force 1 August 1948 and was reactivated 15 August 1948 to supplement Lackland AFB, Texas, as a basic training center renamed as Sheppard AFB.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
- 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 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.
- Additionally, officers from all 13 participating nations fill subordinate leadership positions throughout the wing.