Nonstop flight route between Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from KIE to SPS:
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- About this route
- KIE Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about KIE
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to KIE
- List of Nearest Airports to KIE
- Map of Furthest Airports from KIE
- List of Furthest Airports from KIE
- 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 Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE), Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,365 miles (or 11,853 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 Kieta/Aropa 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 Kieta/Aropa 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | KIE / AYKT |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Kieta, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°18'11"S by 155°43'23"E |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from KIE |
More Information: | KIE 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 Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE):
- The original grass airfield was occupied and expanded by the Imperial Japanese in spring 1942.
- In addition to being known as "Kieta/Aropa Airport", another name for KIE is "AYIQ".
- The closest airport to Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is Balalae Airport (BAS), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) SSE of KIE.
- Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Kieta/Aropa Airport (KIE) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,844 miles (19,061 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
- After World War II the airport became one of Bougainville's main airports.
- Because of Kieta/Aropa Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kieta/Aropa 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 airport was partially destroyed during the Bougainville Crisis of the 1990s and has been closed since then.
- Nowadays the airfield is disused and overgrown with bush.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- Additionally, officers from all 13 participating nations fill subordinate leadership positions throughout the wing.
- 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.
- Helicopter pilot training was transferred from Stead AFB, Nevada in October 1965, with H-19, H-43, Bell TH-1F, CH-3C and HH-3E helicopters used for training.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program announced on 13 May 2005.