Nonstop flight route between Longreach, Queensland, Australia and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Longreach Airport (LRE), Longreach, Queensland, Australia and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,621 miles (or 13,875 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 Longreach 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 Longreach 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 Longreach Airport (LRE):

• During World War II, Longreach airport became, for a short time in 1942, a base for United States Army Air Forces B-17 bomber aircraft of the 28th and 93d Bombardment Squadrons.
• Longreach has played a major part in Australian aviation from 1919 onwards.
• Longreach Airport (LRE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Longreach Airport's relatively low elevation of 627 feet, planes can take off or land at Longreach 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.
• In 2002, Qantas returned to the town, with a Boeing 747-238B aircraft, registered VH-EBQ and named City of Bunbury, flown into the town for static display at the Qantas Founders Outback Museum, which is also sited at the airport.
• In 1920, the first single engine aircraft to complete the flight from England to Australia arrived.
• The furthest airport from Longreach Airport (LRE) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,625 miles (18,709 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• The closest airport to Longreach Airport (LRE) is Barcaldine Airport (BCI), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) E of LRE.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• The 3630th Flying Training Wing also provided undergraduate pilot training for pilots of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force from 1971 to 1975.
• 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 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 3950th Technical Training Wing was designated the Sheppard Technical Training Center 1 January 1959.
• 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 AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
• Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".