Nonstop flight route between Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hilo International Airport (ITO), Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,577 miles (or 5,757 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 Hilo International 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 Hilo International 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 Hilo International Airport (ITO):

• A groundbreaking ceremony for a new terminal building was held on July 17, 1952.
• Because of Hilo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 38 feet, planes can take off or land at Hilo 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.
• Efforts finally had some success on April 28, 2006, when ATA Airlines re-established daily non-stop service between Hilo and Oakland International Airport in California aboard its Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
• Although designed as the second gateway into and out of Hawaiʻi, for many years Hilo had been Hawaiʻi's only major airport lacking non-stop flights to North America.
• Hilo International Airport, formerly General Lyman Field, is owned and operated by the Hawaiʻi state Department of Transportation.
• The closest airport to Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) W of ITO.
• Other proposed noise mitigation measures include a barrier on the north side of the airport and the extension of Runway 8-26 by 1,850 feet to the east and displacing the western end of the runway by the same amount, thereby maintaining the runway's length.
• The furthest airport from Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Hilo International Airport (meaning Hilo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,336 miles (19,854 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• Hilo International Airport handled 1,279,342 passengers last year.
• Hilo International Airport (ITO) has 2 runways.
• In 1927 the Territory of Hawaii legislature passed Act 257, authorizing the expenditure of $25,000 for the construction of a landing strip in Hilo.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
• 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 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.
• 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 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 3630th Flying Training Wing was activated in 1965, and it assumed the helicopter training program.
• Additionally, officers from all 13 participating nations fill subordinate leadership positions throughout the wing.
• As of September 2013, Brigadier General Scott Kindsvater is the commander of the 82d Training Wing, and he concurrently serves as the installation commander of Sheppard AFB.
• The host unit on Sheppard Air Force Base is the 82nd Training Wing whose mission makes it the most diversified training base within the Air Education and Training Command.