Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Atar, Mauritania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Atar Airport (ATR), Atar, Mauritania would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,188 miles (or 8,349 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 Sheppard Air Force Base and Atar Airport, 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 Sheppard Air Force Base and Atar Airport. 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 Sheppard Air Force Base (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.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• 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.
• During World War II, then-Sheppard Field conducted basic training, and it also trained glider mechanics, technical and flying training instructors and B-29 Superfortress flight engineers.
• 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.

Facts about Atar Airport (ATR):

• The closest airport to Atar Airport (ATR) is Akjoujt Airport (AJJ), which is located 102 miles (164 kilometers) WSW of ATR.
• Atar Airport (ATR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Atar Airport's relatively low elevation of 758 feet, planes can take off or land at Atar 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.
• The furthest airport from Atar Airport (ATR) is Maré Airport (MEE), which is nearly antipodal to Atar Airport (meaning Atar Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maré Airport), and is located 12,340 miles (19,859 kilometers) away in Maré, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia.