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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rochester Airport (RCS), Rochester, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,779 miles (or 7,691 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 Rochester 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 Rochester 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 Rochester Airport (RCS):

• Rochester Airport (RCS) has 3 runways.
• Rochester airport was bombed heavily during the war by a wing of Dornier Do 17s on 15 August 1940.
• Because of Rochester Airport's relatively low elevation of 426 feet, planes can take off or land at Rochester 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.
• On 13 January 2009 a fresh lease, with conditions, was granted to Rochester Airport Operating company.
• The inaugural flight into Rochester was from Gravesend, with John Parker flying their Short Scion, G-ACJI, powered by a Pobjoy engine.
• Rochester Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee.
• The furthest airport from Rochester Airport (RCS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,897 miles (19,146 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Shorts concentrated their work in Belfast, leaving the Medway towns in 1946.
• The closest airport to Rochester Airport (RCS) is London Southend Airport (SEN), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NNE of RCS.

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• 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 Air Force School of Health Care Sciences offered training in dentistry, medicine, nursing, and health-services administration.
• Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
• The 3950th Technical Training Wing was designated the Sheppard Technical Training Center 1 January 1959.
• Sheppard Field reached its peak strength of 46,340 people while serving as a separation center for troops being discharged following World War II from September through November 1945.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 80th Flying Training Wing, also at Sheppard, conducts the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program, a multi-nationally manned and managed flying training program chartered to produce combat pilots for both USAF and NATO.