Nonstop flight route between Pirlangimpi, Northern Territory, Australia and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GPN to SPS:
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- About this route
- GPN Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about GPN
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to GPN
- List of Nearest Airports to GPN
- Map of Furthest Airports from GPN
- List of Furthest Airports from GPN
- 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 Garden Point Airport (GPN), Pirlangimpi, Northern Territory, Australia and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,992 miles (or 14,471 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 Garden Point 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 Garden Point 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GPN / YGPT |
| Airport Name: | Garden Point Airport |
| Location: | Pirlangimpi, Northern Territory, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 11°23'57"S by 130°25'31"E |
| Area Served: | Melville Island, Australia |
| Operator/Owner: | Tiwi Island Shire Council |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 90 feet (27 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GPN |
| More Information: | GPN 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 Garden Point Airport (GPN):
- Garden Point Airport (GPN) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Garden Point Airport (GPN) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,944 miles (19,222 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
- The closest airport to Garden Point Airport (GPN) is Snake Bay Airport (SNB), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) E of GPN.
- Because of Garden Point Airport's relatively low elevation of 90 feet, planes can take off or land at Garden Point 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".
- During World War II, then-Sheppard Field conducted basic training, and it also trained glider mechanics, technical and flying training instructors and B-29 Superfortress flight engineers.
- 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 closest airport to Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS) is Kickapoo Downtown Airport (KIP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) S of SPS.
- Helicopter pilot training was transferred from Stead AFB, Nevada in October 1965, with H-19, H-43, Bell TH-1F, CH-3C and HH-3E helicopters used for training.
- The Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program announced on 13 May 2005.
- 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 AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
- 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.
