Nonstop flight route between Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from ROA to SPS:
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- About this route
- ROA Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about ROA
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to ROA
- List of Nearest Airports to ROA
- Map of Furthest Airports from ROA
- List of Furthest Airports from ROA
- 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,063 miles (or 1,711 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport 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: | ROA / KROA |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Roanoke, Virginia, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°19'32"N by 79°58'32"W |
| Area Served: | Roanoke Valley, New River Valley |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 1175 feet (358 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from ROA |
| More Information: | ROA 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):
- Due to the size and layout of its runways, the airport has been rated among the top ten airports within a couple of hours of Andrews Air Force Base for training pilots in the 89th Operations Group.
- In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".
- By 1934, American Airlines began service to Roanoke, but they later moved their operations to Lynchburg in 1937 due to the poor conditions in Roanoke.
- During the period of Piedmont’s dominance, several regional airlines established service to Roanoke only to later pull out.
- The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.
- Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport, also known as Woodrum Field, is a regional airport located three nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Roanoke, a city in Roanoke County, Virginia, United States.
- Roanoke Regional saw 685,000 passengers in 2007, with 71 percent on-time departures and 68 percent on-time arrivals.
- The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.
- In the time since the initial commercial service to Roanoke commenced in 1933, various airlines have offered non-stop service to and from Roanoke.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
- Helicopter pilot training was transferred from Stead AFB, Nevada in October 1965, with H-19, H-43, Bell TH-1F, CH-3C and HH-3E helicopters used for training.
- The 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
- The 3630th Flying Training Wing was activated in 1965, and it assumed the helicopter training program.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
