Nonstop flight route between Manston, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Manston Airport (MSE), Manston, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,811 miles (or 7,743 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 Manston 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 Manston 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 Manston Airport (MSE):

• After the RAF left, local MP Dr.
• Manston Airport handled 8,595 passengers last year.
• On 26 July 2005 all EUjet operations were suspended, along with all non-freight operations at the airport, owing to financial difficulties with the airport and airline's owner, PlaneStation.
• Newmarket Holidays continues to offer irregular charter flights during the summer months to popular destinations including Verona and Naples in Italy, as well as Porto in Portugal using the Lithuanian charter airline Small Planet Airlines for the summer 2013 season.
• The closest airport to Manston Airport (MSE) is Lympne Airport (LYM), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SW of MSE.
• On 22 December 2011 Flybe spokesman Niall Duffy announced that all services operated by Flybe would cease operations from Manston Airport by 25 March 2012.
• After the plan was published, the Ministry of Defence announced its intention to sell off RAF Manston.
• Hawker Typhoon and Meteor squadrons were based at Manston during the Second World War.
• Manston Airport (MSE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Manston Airport (MSE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,906 miles (19,162 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Manston Airport's relatively low elevation of 178 feet, planes can take off or land at Manston 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):

• 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 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 February 1992, restructuring and downsizing of the Air Force caused a realignment and renumbering of units at Sheppard.
• 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 addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.