Nonstop flight route between Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,258 miles (or 13,290 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 Great Barrier Reef 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 Great Barrier Reef 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 Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI):

• In the year ending 30 June 2011 the airport handled 457,641 passengers making it the 19th busiest airport in Australia.
• The closest airport to Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI) is Whitsunday Airport (WSY), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HTI.
• Because of Great Barrier Reef Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Great Barrier Reef 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.
• In addition to being known as "Great Barrier Reef Airport", another name for HTI is "Hamilton Island".
• The furthest airport from Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,990 miles (19,297 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• The airport suffered heavily in September 2001 with the demise of Ansett Australia, which operated more heavily out of the airport than any other airline with flights to Cairns, Townsville, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.
• Great Barrier Reef Airport handled 457,641 passengers last year.
• Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• 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 AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
• The 3630th Flying Training Wing was activated in 1965, and it assumed the helicopter training program.
• 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 3950th Technical Training Wing was designated the Sheppard Technical Training Center 1 January 1959.
• 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.
• Additionally, officers from all 13 participating nations fill subordinate leadership positions throughout the wing.
• Comptroller, transportation, and intelligence training moved to Sheppard from Lowry AFB, Colorado, in the fall of 1954.