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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SPS to BNK:
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- About this route
- SPS Airport Information
- BNK Airport Information
- Facts about SPS
- Facts about BNK
- Map of Nearest Airports to SPS
- List of Nearest Airports to SPS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPS
- List of Furthest Airports from SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to BNK
- List of Nearest Airports to BNK
- Map of Furthest Airports from BNK
- List of Furthest Airports from BNK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), Ballina, New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,261 miles (or 13,295 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 Ballina Byron Gateway 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 Ballina Byron Gateway Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SPS / KSPS |
Airport Names: |
|
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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BNK / YBNA |
Airport Name: | Ballina Byron Gateway Airport |
Location: | Ballina, New South Wales, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°49'59"S by 153°33'42"E |
Operator/Owner: | Ballina Shire Council |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 7 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BNK |
More Information: | BNK Maps & Info |
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- 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 3630th Flying Training Wing was activated in 1965, and it assumed the helicopter training program.
- Comptroller, transportation, and intelligence training moved to Sheppard from Lowry AFB, Colorado, in the fall of 1954.
- Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK):
- Because of Ballina Byron Gateway Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Ballina Byron Gateway 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 closest airport to Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) is Lismore Airport (LSY), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) W of BNK.
- Ballina Byron Gateway Airport handled 291,322 passengers last year.
- It is 5 km from the Ballina CBD, in Southern Cross Drive.
- The furthest airport from Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,911 miles (19,168 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
- Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) currently has only 1 runway.