Nonstop flight route between Knock, Ireland and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC), Knock, Ireland and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,350 miles (or 7,001 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 Ireland West Airport Knock 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 Ireland West Airport Knock 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 Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC):

• In 2013, Ryanair launched a weekly summer route to Malaga on thursdays.
• Because of Ireland West Airport Knock's relatively low elevation of 665 feet, planes can take off or land at Ireland West Airport Knock 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 addition to being known as "Ireland West Airport Knock", other names for NOC include "Horan International Airport" and "Aerfort Iarthar Éireann".
• It was voted Ireland's best regional airport in 2006 and 2009 by the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland.
• Ireland West Airport Knock handled 665,000 passengers last year.
• Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The installation of the Category II Instrument Landing System in April 2009 has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of flight diversions to other airports due to poor visibility – the airport is 200 metres above sea level.
• The airport is on the main N17 north – south road, halfway between Galway and Sligo, close to the junction with the N5 east – west Westport – Castlebar – Longford road.
• The closest airport to Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) is Sligo Airport (SXL), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NNE of NOC.
• The furthest airport from Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,934 miles (19,206 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In 2008 a record 629,000 passengers used the airport, a 13% rise compared to the previous year.
• Since 2003, flag-carrier, low-cost and regional airlines including Aer Lingus, MyTravelLite, Bmibaby, Ryanair, Aer Arann, flybe, Lufthansa and EasyJet have added routes to the UK and mainland Europe.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• 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.
• The 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• The host unit on Sheppard Air Force Base is the 82nd Training Wing whose mission makes it the most diversified training base within the Air Education and Training Command.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 was activated in 1965, and it assumed the helicopter training program.