Nonstop flight route between Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from NQX to SPS:
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- About this route
- NQX Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about NQX
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to NQX
- List of Nearest Airports to NQX
- Map of Furthest Airports from NQX
- List of Furthest Airports from NQX
- 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 NAS Key West (NQX), Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,201 miles (or 1,933 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 NAS Key West 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: | NQX / KNQX |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Boca Chica Key, Florida, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 24°34'32"N by 81°41'20"W |
| Operator/Owner: | United States Navy |
| Airport Type: | Military: Naval Air Station |
| Elevation: | 6 feet (2 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 3 |
| View all routes: | Routes from NQX |
| More Information: | NQX 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 NAS Key West (NQX):
- Due to its superb flying weather, NAS Key West has also hosted several permanent detachments of the fighter and strike fighter Fleet Replacement Squadrons at NAS Oceana, Virginia.
- On 22 September of that year, the base's log book recorded the first naval flight ever made from Key West – a Curtiss N-9 seaplane flown by U.S.
- NAS Key West (NQX) has 3 runways.
- In addition to being known as "NAS Key West", other names for NQX include "Naval Air Station Key West" and "NQX[1]".
- After World War I, the base was decommissioned and its personnel were transferred or released.
- The closest airport to NAS Key West (NQX) is Key West International Airport (EYW), which is located only 5 miles (7 kilometers) WSW of NQX.
- On a broader scale, NAS Key West's national security mission supports operational and readiness requirements for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Air National Guard and Army National Guard units, other federal agencies, and allied military forces.
- Naval Base Key West was reopened just prior to the United States' entry into World War II to support Navy destroyers, submarines, patrol craft and PBY flying boat and amphibious aircraft.
- Naval Air Station Key West, is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States.
- In 1946, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 was established at NAS Key West and for the next three decades conducted airborne antisubmarine warfare systems evaluation out of Boca Chica, while Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 1 conducted Atlantic Fleet helicopter fleet replacement training in the SH-3 Sea King out of the former seaplane base at Trumbo Point.
- Because of NAS Key West's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS Key West 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.
- The furthest airport from NAS Key West (NQX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,575 miles (18,629 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
- 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.
- Comptroller, transportation, and intelligence training moved to Sheppard from Lowry AFB, Colorado, in the fall of 1954.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- Between 1960 and 1966 the Strategic Air Command had training units stationed at the base that conducted aerospace rescue schools and weather instruction.
