Nonstop flight route between Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GAI to SPS:
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- About this route
- GAI Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about GAI
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to GAI
- List of Nearest Airports to GAI
- Map of Furthest Airports from GAI
- List of Furthest Airports from GAI
- 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 Montgomery County Airpark (GAI), Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,233 miles (or 1,984 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 relatively short distance between Montgomery County Airpark and Sheppard Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GAI / KGAI |
| Airport Name: | Montgomery County Airpark |
| Location: | Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 39°10'5"N by 77°9'57"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Montgomery County Revenue Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 539 feet (164 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GAI |
| More Information: | GAI 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 Montgomery County Airpark (GAI):
- Because of Montgomery County Airpark's relatively low elevation of 539 feet, planes can take off or land at Montgomery County Airpark 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 Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) is College Park Airport (CGS), which is located only 18 miles (30 kilometers) SE of GAI.
- The furthest airport from Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,667 miles (18,776 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- Comptroller, transportation, and intelligence training moved to Sheppard from Lowry AFB, Colorado, in the fall of 1954.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
- 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.
- The 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
- In February 1992, restructuring and downsizing of the Air Force caused a realignment and renumbering of units at Sheppard.
- 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 host unit on Sheppard Air Force Base is the 82nd Training Wing whose mission makes it the most diversified training base within the Air Education and Training Command.
- 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.
- 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.
