Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from LGW to SPS:
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- About this route
- LGW Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about LGW
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to LGW
- List of Nearest Airports to LGW
- Map of Furthest Airports from LGW
- List of Furthest Airports from LGW
- 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 Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,759 miles (or 7,660 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 Gatwick 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 Gatwick 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: | LGW / EGKK |
| Airport Name: | Gatwick Airport |
| Location: | London, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°8'53"N by 0°11'25"W |
| Area Served: | London, United Kingdom |
| Operator/Owner: | Global Infrastructure Partners |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 203 feet (62 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from LGW |
| More Information: | LGW 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 Gatwick Airport (LGW):
- Caledonian Airways purchased British United Airways in November 1970, and the combined airline was initially known as Caledonian/BUA.
- The first scheduled flight departed from the Beehive terminal on 17 May 1936, bound for Paris.
- The furthest airport from Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,901 miles (19,152 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
- The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
- Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
- Between 1958 and 1959, Sudan Airways and BWIA West Indies Airways were among Gatwick's first scheduled overseas airlines.
- Because of Gatwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 203 feet, planes can take off or land at Gatwick 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.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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 a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
