Nonstop flight route between Dirranbandi, Queensland, Australia and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dirranbandi Airport (DRN), Dirranbandi, Queensland, Australia and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,550 miles (or 13,759 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 Dirranbandi 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 Dirranbandi 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 Dirranbandi Airport (DRN):

• Dirranbandi Airport (DRN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Dirranbandi Airport's relatively low elevation of 567 feet, planes can take off or land at Dirranbandi 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 closest airport to Dirranbandi Airport (DRN) is Lightning Ridge Airport (LHG), which is located 61 miles (99 kilometers) SSW of DRN.
• The furthest airport from Dirranbandi Airport (DRN) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 11,742 miles (18,897 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.

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 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.
• 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.
• Sheppard AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
• 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 was activated in 1965, and it assumed the helicopter training program.