Nonstop flight route between Gary, Indiana (near Chicago), United States and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY), Gary, Indiana (near Chicago), United States and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 801 miles (or 1,289 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 Gary/Chicago International Airport and Sheppard Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY):

• Because of Gary/Chicago International Airport's relatively low elevation of 591 feet, planes can take off or land at Gary/Chicago International 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.
• Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) is Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) NW of GYY.
• Chicago-based Boeing selected the airport to permanently base its Midwest corporate jet fleet.
• A long-standing proposal to turn the Gary/Chicago International Airport into Chicago's third major airport received a boost in early 2006 with the approval of $48 million in federal funding over the next ten years.
• The furthest airport from Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,868 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Gary/Chicago International Airport covers 675 acres at an elevation of 591 feet above mean sea level.
• Gary/Chicago is the official "third airport" for the Chicago metropolitan area, supplementing Chicago's major airports, O'Hare and Midway.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• Sheppard AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The 3630th Flying Training Wing also provided undergraduate pilot training for pilots of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force from 1971 to 1975.
• 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.
• 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.