Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Belmont Airport (BEO), Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,482 miles (or 13,650 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 Belmont 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 Belmont 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• 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.
• 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 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
• In February 1992, restructuring and downsizing of the Air Force caused a realignment and renumbering of units at Sheppard.

Facts about Belmont Airport (BEO):

• The closest airport to Belmont Airport (BEO) is Newcastle Airport (NTL), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) NNE of BEO.
• In 2013, a consortium represented by Newcastle Helicopters and Red Bull Air Race pilot Matt Hall were reported as being close to closing a deal with Mirvac to purchase the airport, however backed out of negotiations before the deal could be finalised.
• The furthest airport from Belmont Airport (BEO) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Belmont Airport (meaning Belmont Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,112 miles (19,493 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• Because of Belmont Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Belmont 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.
• Belmont Airport (BEO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Under current guidelines, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has classified Belmont as an Aircraft Landing Area as due to land constraints the site infrastructure does not meet the dimensions required to operate as a registered airport, placing some restriction on future uses for commercial passenger flights.
• Lake Macquarie City Council has expressed an interest in maintaining the site for aviation uses.