Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Avalon, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Avalon Airport (AVV), Avalon, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,990 miles (or 14,469 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 Avalon 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 Avalon 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 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.
• 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 3950th Technical Training Wing was designated the Sheppard Technical Training Center 1 January 1959.
• Over the next three decades three training schools were stationed at the base training students in aircraft maintenance, transportation, communication, civil engineering, Aircrew Life Support and field training.
• 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 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.
• 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 80th Flying Training Wing began conducting the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program in 1981.

Facts about Avalon Airport (AVV):

• The airport was opened in 1953, to cater for the production of military aircraft.
• The current terminal facility is approximately 4,500 square metres in area and houses four gates capable of servicing aircraft up to and including the size of the Airbus A321.
• In addition to being known as "Avalon Airport", another name for AVV is "Melbourne/Avalon".
• Avalon Airport (AVV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Avalon Airport (AVV) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Avalon Airport (meaning Avalon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,165 miles (19,578 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Because of Avalon Airport's relatively low elevation of 115 feet, planes can take off or land at Avalon 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.
• In June 2011, Tiger announced it would be withdrawing several flights from the airport to Tullamarine Airport to make the airline operations more profitable.
• The airport's location between Melbourne and Geelong makes it both a capital city airport and an regional airport, servicing a large regional catchment in western Victoria and providing connections to tourism destinations such as the Great Ocean Road. Since Linfox Group’s purchase of the airport in 1997, Avalon Airport’s aviation operations have grown significantly as it has established itself as a second gateway to the Melbourne and Geelong regions.
• The first scheduled passenger flights out of the airport were operated by Hazelton Airlines, who commenced flights between Avalon Airport and Sydney in February 1995.
• The closest airport to Avalon Airport (AVV) is Geelong Airport (GEX), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) SE of AVV.
• The Airport is a single runway, curfew free airport with a helipad.