Nonstop flight route between Harlingen, Texas, United States and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from HRL to SPS:
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- About this route
- HRL Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about HRL
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to HRL
- List of Nearest Airports to HRL
- Map of Furthest Airports from HRL
- List of Furthest Airports from HRL
- 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 Valley International Airport (HRL), Harlingen, Texas, United States and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 539 miles (or 867 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 Valley 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:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | HRL / KHRL |
| Airport Name: | Valley International Airport |
| Location: | Harlingen, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 26°13'37"N by 97°39'18"W |
| Area Served: | Harlingen, Texas |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Harlingen |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 36 feet (11 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from HRL |
| More Information: | HRL 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 Valley International Airport (HRL):
- The closest airport to Valley International Airport (HRL) is Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport (BRO), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SSE of HRL.
- Because of Valley International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Valley 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.
- The furthest airport from Valley International Airport (HRL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,151 miles (17,946 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- After the airport's closure by the military, it was turned over to the local government and converted to civil use as Valley International Airport after Hurricane Beulah flooded the original Harlingen civil airport in 1967.
- Valley International Airport (HRL) has 3 runways.
- On April 2, 2012, a United Airlines, Flight 4128, made an emergency landing at Corpus Christi due to unknown reason when it suffered damage to its front landing gear and also experienced a flat tire.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (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.
- Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States.
- 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 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.
- 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 80th Flying Training Wing began conducting the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program in 1981.
- 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.
- 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.
