Nonstop flight route between Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS), Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,328 miles (or 13,403 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 Coffs Harbour 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 Coffs Harbour 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 Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS):

• The closest airport to Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS) is Clarence Valley Regional Airport (GFN), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) N of CFS.
• The airport was established by the Council in 1928.
• Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS) has 2 runways.
• In 2011 the airport handled over 27,000 aircraft movements.
• On 15 May 2003, an Ambulance Service of New South Wales Beechcraft B200C King Air aircraft had to make an emergency landing at Coffs Harbour Airport after it hit the sea or a reef near the Coffs Harbour boat harbour during an instrument approach in heavy rain and poor visibility.
• The furthest airport from Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 11,967 miles (19,258 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• Because of Coffs Harbour Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Coffs Harbour 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.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• The 80th Flying Training Wing began conducting the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program in 1981.
• The host unit at Sheppard is the 82d Training Wing, which provides specialized technical training, medical, and field training for officers, Airmen, and civilians of all branches of the military, other DoD agencies, and foreign nationals.
• 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.
• 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.
• Sheppard Air Force Base is named in honor of Senator John Morris Sheppard of Texas, chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee from 1933 until his death on 9 April 1941.
• As of September 2013, Brigadier General Scott Kindsvater is the commander of the 82d Training Wing, and he concurrently serves as the installation commander of Sheppard AFB.
• The 80th Flying Training Wing, also at Sheppard, conducts the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program, a multi-nationally manned and managed flying training program chartered to produce combat pilots for both USAF and NATO.
• The aircraft mechanics school was transferred to Sheppard from Keesler AFB, Mississippi in April 1949 to make room for expansion of electronic training at that base.