Nonstop flight route between Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chimbu Airport (CMU), Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,965 miles (or 12,819 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 Chimbu 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 Chimbu 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 Chimbu Airport (CMU):

• The furthest airport from Chimbu Airport (CMU) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,731 miles (18,879 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Chimbu Airport (CMU) is Goroka Airport (GKA), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) E of CMU.
• Chimbu Airport (CMU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Chimbu Airport's high elevation of 4,974 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CMU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CMU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.