Nonstop flight route between Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Helsinki Airport (HEL), Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,180 miles (or 8,336 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 Helsinki 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 Helsinki 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 Helsinki Airport (HEL):

• Coach connections, daytime and overnight, to all parts of Finland are provided by Matkahuolto and ExpressBus.
• In addition to being known as "Helsinki Airport", another name for HEL is "Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasemaHelsingfors-Vanda flygplats".
• Because of Helsinki Airport's relatively low elevation of 179 feet, planes can take off or land at Helsinki 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.
• Helsinki Airport (HEL) has 3 runways.
• The following handling agents provide ground handling services for airlines:Airpro, Inter Handling, ISS Aviation, Servisair, Groundpower, Swissport.
• In 2013 Finavia announced plans to expand the airport to serve up to 20 million passenger by 2020.
• Helsinki Airport handled 15,279,043 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,992 miles (17,689 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SSE of HEL.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• It was officially opened as an Army Air Corps training center on 17 October 1941, following the arrival of the first military members on 14 June.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• The 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
• 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.
• Control and accountability for Sheppard Field was transferred to the Department of the Air Force 1 August 1948 and was reactivated 15 August 1948 to supplement Lackland AFB, Texas, as a basic training center renamed as Sheppard AFB.
• The 3630th Flying Training Wing was activated in 1965, and it assumed the helicopter training program.
• Sheppard AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
• 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.