Nonstop flight route between Castle Donington, Leicestershire, United Kingdom and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between East Midlands Airport (EMA), Castle Donington, Leicestershire, United Kingdom and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,662 miles (or 7,503 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 East Midlands 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 East Midlands 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 East Midlands Airport (EMA):

• EMA replaced the smaller pre-war grass airfield at Derby Burnaston, and the base's light aircraft later moved to a new site at Derby Egginton Airfield near Hilton.
• Until 1982, when the head office moved to Donington Hall,British Midland had its head office on the airport property.
• The furthest airport from East Midlands Airport (EMA) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In September 2006 Plane Stupid blocked a taxiway at the airport for four hours.
• East Midlands Airport handled 4,334,117 passengers last year.
• East Midlands Airport (EMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Although very much still in the initial stages of planning, a proposed route for the High Speed 2 rail line from London Euston to the north of England via Birmingham could bring the Leeds branch very close to East Midlands Airport with proposals for a station to serve the airport and the Nottingham and Derby catchment areas.
• Because of East Midlands Airport's relatively low elevation of 306 feet, planes can take off or land at East Midlands 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 East Midlands Airport (EMA) is RAF Cottesmore (OKH), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) ESE of EMA.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• Between 1960 and 1966 the Strategic Air Command had training units stationed at the base that conducted aerospace rescue schools and weather instruction.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• 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 3950th Technical Training Wing was designated the Sheppard Technical Training Center 1 January 1959.
• 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.
• 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 AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.