Nonstop flight route between Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from BUQ to SPS:
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- About this route
- BUQ Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about BUQ
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to BUQ
- List of Nearest Airports to BUQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from BUQ
- List of Furthest Airports from BUQ
- 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 Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ), Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,079 miles (or 14,612 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 Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International 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 Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BUQ / FVBU |
Airport Name: | Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport |
Location: | Bulawayo, Zimbabwe |
GPS Coordinates: | 20°1'2"S by 28°37'4"E |
Operator/Owner: | Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4359 feet (1,329 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from BUQ |
More Information: | BUQ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SPS / KSPS |
Airport Names: |
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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 Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ):
- The closest airport to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ) is Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) ENE of BUQ.
- Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ) has 2 runways.
- Because of Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport's high elevation of 4,359 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BUQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BUQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (meaning Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,198 miles (19,630 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- Comptroller, transportation, and intelligence training moved to Sheppard from Lowry AFB, Colorado, in the fall of 1954.
- Between 1960 and 1966 the Strategic Air Command had training units stationed at the base that conducted aerospace rescue schools and weather instruction.
- Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".