Nonstop flight route between Kimberley, South Africa and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kimberley Airport (KIM), Kimberley, South Africa and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,113 miles (or 14,666 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 Kimberley 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 Kimberley 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 Kimberley Airport (KIM):

• The furthest airport from Kimberley Airport (KIM) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,911 miles (19,169 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• Kimberley Airport (KIM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Kimberley Airport (KIM) is Bloemfontein International Airport (BFN), which is located 95 miles (153 kilometers) ESE of KIM.

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.
• 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 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 also provided undergraduate pilot training for pilots of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force from 1971 to 1975.
• 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 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".