Nonstop flight route between Palmerston North, New Zealand and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Palmerston North Airport (PMR), Palmerston North, New Zealand and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,493 miles (or 12,059 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 Palmerston North 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 Palmerston North 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 Palmerston North Airport (PMR):

• Palmerston North Airport handled 449,090 passengers last year.
• There were two regular international services departing from this airport, to Sydney and Brisbane operated by Freedom Air, however services ended in March 2008.
• The first airfield on this site was created by the Milson Aerodrome Society in 1931, comprising a grass runway.
• The furthest airport from Palmerston North Airport (PMR) is Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD), which is nearly antipodal to Palmerston North Airport (meaning Palmerston North Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1]), and is located 12,392 miles (19,943 kilometers) away in Madrid, Spain.
• The closest airport to Palmerston North Airport (PMR) is Wanganui Airport (WAG), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) NW of PMR.
• Tauranga Airport, Air New Zealand Link and Palmerston North Airport are in discussions to commence flights between Palmerston North and Tauranga
• Palmerston North Airport (PMR) has 2 runways.
• Because of Palmerston North Airport's relatively low elevation of 151 feet, planes can take off or land at Palmerston North 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):

• 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 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 host unit at Sheppard is the 82d Training Wing, which provides specialized technical training, medical, and field training for officers, Airmen, and civilians of all branches of the military, other DoD agencies, and foreign nationals.
• The 80th Flying Training Wing began conducting the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program in 1981.
• The 3950th Technical Training Wing was designated the Sheppard Technical Training Center 1 January 1959.
• Sheppard AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.