Nonstop flight route between Mendi, Papua New Guinea and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from MDU to SPS:
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- About this route
- MDU Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about MDU
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to MDU
- List of Nearest Airports to MDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from MDU
- List of Furthest Airports from MDU
- 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 Mendi Airport (MDU), Mendi, Papua New Guinea and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,044 miles (or 12,946 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 Mendi 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 Mendi 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: | MDU / AYMN |
Airport Name: | Mendi Airport |
Location: | Mendi, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°8'51"S by 143°39'25"E |
Elevation: | 5680 feet (1,731 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MDU |
More Information: | MDU 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 Mendi Airport (MDU):
- Mendi Airport (MDU) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Mendi Airport (MDU) is Moro Airport (MXH), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) WSW of MDU.
- The furthest airport from Mendi Airport (MDU) is Pinto Martins – Fortaleza International Airport (FOR), which is located 11,735 miles (18,885 kilometers) away in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
- Because of Mendi Airport's high elevation of 5,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MDU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MDU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
- Additionally, officers from all 13 participating nations fill subordinate leadership positions throughout the wing.
- 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.
- As of September 2013, Brigadier General Scott Kindsvater is the commander of the 82d Training Wing, and he concurrently serves as the installation commander of Sheppard AFB.
- In February 1992, restructuring and downsizing of the Air Force caused a realignment and renumbering of units at Sheppard.
- 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.