Nonstop flight route between Qiemo, Xinjiang, China and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Qiemo Airport (IQM), Qiemo, Xinjiang, China and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,446 miles (or 11,983 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 Qiemo 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 Qiemo 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 Qiemo Airport (IQM):

• The closest airport to Qiemo Airport (IQM) is Korla Airport (KRL), which is located 242 miles (389 kilometers) N of IQM.
• In addition to being known as "Qiemo Airport", other names for IQM include "且末机场" and "Qiěmò Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Qiemo Airport (IQM) is Pupelde Airfield (ZUD), which is located 11,316 miles (18,211 kilometers) away in Ancud, Los Lagos Region, Chile.
• Because of Qiemo Airport's high elevation of 4,108 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at IQM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make IQM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Qiemo Airport (IQM) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (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.
• The 3950th Technical Training Wing was designated the Sheppard Technical Training Center 1 January 1959.
• Sheppard Field reached its peak strength of 46,340 people while serving as a separation center for troops being discharged following World War II from September through November 1945.
• 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 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 began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
• In February 1992, restructuring and downsizing of the Air Force caused a realignment and renumbering of units at Sheppard.
• 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".
• 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.