Nonstop flight route between Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LOU to SPS:
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- About this route
- LOU Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about LOU
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to LOU
- List of Nearest Airports to LOU
- Map of Furthest Airports from LOU
- List of Furthest Airports from LOU
- 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 Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 773 miles (or 1,244 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 relatively short distance between Bowman Field and Sheppard Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LOU / KLOU |
Airport Name: | Bowman Field |
Location: | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°13'41"N by 85°39'48"W |
Area Served: | Louisville, Kentucky |
Operator/Owner: | Louisville Regional Airport Authority (LRAA) |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 546 feet (166 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LOU |
More Information: | LOU 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 Bowman Field (LOU):
- Because of Bowman Field's relatively low elevation of 546 feet, planes can take off or land at Bowman Field 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.
- Bowman Field was used in the James Bond film Goldfinger as the base for Pussy Galore's Flying Circus.
- Bowman Field (LOU) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Bowman Field (LOU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,243 miles (18,093 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Bowman Field (LOU) is Louisville International Airport (SDF), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) SW of LOU.
- Today Bowman Field is home to hundreds of privately owned aircraft as well as several commercial operations, including Central American Airways, which opened its doors in 1946, Falcon Aviation, Aero Club of Louisville, Inc., and Louisville Executive Aviation.
- During the Great Depression, Louisvillians would often come to the Art Deco terminal building to watch airplanes depart and land as a form of inexpensive entertainment.
- Bowman Field is Kentucky's first commercial airport and is the oldest continually operating commercial airfield in North America.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
- 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.
- Comptroller, transportation, and intelligence training moved to Sheppard from Lowry AFB, Colorado, in the fall of 1954.
- 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 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.
- The 3630th Flying Training Wing also provided undergraduate pilot training for pilots of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force from 1971 to 1975.
- 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 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 host unit at Sheppard is the 82d Training Wing, which provides specialized technical training, medical, and field training for officers, Airmen, and civilians of all branches of the military, other DoD agencies, and foreign nationals.