Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,206 miles (or 3,550 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 Sheppard Air Force Base and Rafael Hernández Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• 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.
• 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.
• Sheppard AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "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.
• The 80th Flying Training Wing began conducting the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program in 1981.

Facts about Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN):

• Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) is Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (MAZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) S of BQN.
• Because of Rafael Hernández Airport's relatively low elevation of 237 feet, planes can take off or land at Rafael Hernández 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.
• Since the closure of Ramey AFB in 1974, the airport's control tower had remained standing, but was non-operational, limiting the airport to UNICOM communication as an uncontrolled airport.
• Until 1974, the airport was an active military installation, Ramey Air Force Base, under the operational control of the Strategic Air Command.
• The furthest airport from Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Rafael Hernández Airport (meaning Rafael Hernández Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,204 miles (19,641 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• The capacity of the airport and its role as the main gateway to Porta del Sol has led local officials to take the position that the airport is extremely undeserved in a region which accounts for one third of Puerto Rico's total population, with the mayor of the Aguadilla asking for the airport to be transferred to the city on several occasions.
• The north side of the airport consists of a passenger terminal with an international side capable of handling flights of over 200 passengers.