Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Canton Island, Kiribati:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SPS to CIS:
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- About this route
- SPS Airport Information
- CIS Airport Information
- Facts about SPS
- Facts about CIS
- 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 CIS
- List of Nearest Airports to CIS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CIS
- List of Furthest Airports from CIS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,372 miles (or 8,645 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 Canton Island 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 Canton Island 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: |
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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: | CIS / PCIS |
Airport Name: | Canton Island Airport |
Location: | Canton Island, Kiribati |
GPS Coordinates: | 2°46'9"S by 171°42'19"W |
Elevation: | 9 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CIS |
More Information: | CIS Maps & Info |
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sheppard Field reached its peak strength of 46,340 people while serving as a separation center for troops being discharged following World War II from September through November 1945.
- 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.
- 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 Air Force School of Health Care Sciences offered training in dentistry, medicine, nursing, and health-services administration.
- Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States.
- 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.
Facts about Canton Island Airport (CIS):
- The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
- The furthest airport from Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Malabo International Airport (SSG), which is nearly antipodal to Canton Island Airport (meaning Canton Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Malabo International Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
- Though Kanton Island was never physically invaded by Japanese forces, the airfield was bombarded on 1 November 1943 by the Japanese submarine I-36.
- During World War II, Kanton Island was considered part of the British-controlled Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony.
- Because of Canton Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Canton Island 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.
- Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Kanton Island airport continued to see use during the 1950s as a trans-Pacific stopover for DC-4, DC-6B and DC-7C aircraft for Pan American, British Commonwealth Pacific, Qantas and Canadian Pacific Airlines, but with the advent of long-range jet aircraft during the 1960s, their need for the island faded, and the airfield and its associated facilities were ultimately abandoned in 1965.