Nonstop flight route between Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Newcastle Airport (NTL), Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,465 miles (or 13,622 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 Newcastle 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 Newcastle 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 Newcastle Airport (NTL):

• Because of Newcastle Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Newcastle 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.
• Newcastle Airport handled 1,211,302 passengers last year.
• Newcastle airport briefly offered International flights to New Zealand, these services operated by Freedom Air commenced in 2001 using Boeing 737s.
• Newcastle Airport is surrounded by Class C Airspace and has a control tower which is manned Monday to Friday, between the hours of 0800 – 2200.
• The closest airport to Newcastle Airport (NTL) is Maitland Airport (MTL), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) WNW of NTL.
• On 2 October 1994, a Rockwell Commander 690B operating for Seaview Air with flight number CD111 departed Newcastle Airport for Lord Howe Island.
• The largest aircraft currently operating to Newcastle Airport are the Boeing 737-800s of Virgin Australia.
• Newcastle Airport (NTL) currently has only 1 runway.
• In July 2012, developer GWH Group announced that it had lodged a development application with the Port Stephens Council to construct a $12 million hotel complex on airport land adjacent to the current long term car park.
• Impulse Airlines, a regional airline and later one of Australia's first low cost airlines, established a base at the airport in the early 1990s, creating a maintenance facility.
• The furthest airport from Newcastle Airport (NTL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Newcastle Airport (meaning Newcastle Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,102 miles (19,476 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• In addition to being known as "Newcastle Airport", other names for NTL include "RAAF Base Williamtown" and "Williamtown Airport".

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• Between 1960 and 1966 the Strategic Air Command had training units stationed at the base that conducted aerospace rescue schools and weather instruction.
• 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".
• It was officially opened as an Army Air Corps training center on 17 October 1941, following the arrival of the first military members on 14 June.
• Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States.
• 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.
• 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.