Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Diomede, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SPS to DIO:
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- About this route
- SPS Airport Information
- DIO Airport Information
- Facts about SPS
- Facts about DIO
- 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 DIO
- List of Nearest Airports to DIO
- Map of Furthest Airports from DIO
- List of Furthest Airports from DIO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO), Diomede, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,553 miles (or 5,718 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 Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2), 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 Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2). 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: | DIO / |
Airport Name: | Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) |
Location: | Diomede, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 65°45'29"N by 168°57'6"W |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from DIO |
More Information: | DIO 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 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.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
- The 3630th Flying Training Wing was activated in 1965, and it assumed the helicopter training program.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO):
- The Little Diomede island is composed of Cretaceous age granite or quartz monzonite.
- There were 43 households out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 20.9% were married couples living together, 32.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families.
- During the centuries, the village on Little Diomede was gradually inhabited as a permanent settlement and the entire island was incorporated into the city of Diomede in 1970.
- At the beginning of the Cold War in the late 1940s Big Diomede became a Russian military base and all its native residents were removed to mainland Russia.
- The first square building in the island was a small Catholic church, which was planned by Father Bellarmine Lafortune in 1935 and built by Father Thomas Cunningham during his residency in the island between 1936 and 1947.
- Because of Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2)'s relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) 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.
- There is no hospital on the island and emergency services are limited due to the remoteness of the island.
- The furthest airport from Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,411 miles (16,755 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- The first non-native to reach the Diomede Islands was a Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev in 1648.
- The closest airport to Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO) is Wales Airport (WAA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ESE of DIO.
- After the Cold War ended in the early 1990s, an interest of reuniting with families across the Bering Strait revived.