Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Tusayan, Arizona, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SPS to GCN:
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- About this route
- SPS Airport Information
- GCN Airport Information
- Facts about SPS
- Facts about GCN
- 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 GCN
- List of Nearest Airports to GCN
- Map of Furthest Airports from GCN
- List of Furthest Airports from GCN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN), Tusayan, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 784 miles (or 1,262 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 Grand Canyon National Park Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | GCN / KGCN |
| Airport Name: | Grand Canyon National Park Airport |
| Location: | Tusayan, Arizona, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 35°57'7"N by 112°8'48"W |
| Area Served: | Grand Canyon |
| Operator/Owner: | State of Arizona |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 6609 feet (2,014 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GCN |
| More Information: | GCN Maps & Info |
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- The host unit at Sheppard is the 82d Training Wing, which provides specialized technical training, medical, and field training for officers, Airmen, and civilians of all branches of the military, other DoD agencies, and foreign nationals.
- 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.
- Helicopter pilot training was transferred from Stead AFB, Nevada in October 1965, with H-19, H-43, Bell TH-1F, CH-3C and HH-3E helicopters used for 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.
- 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.
- In July 1969, Detachment 1, 2nd Bombardment Wing, with four B-52 aircraft, became a tenant organization at Sheppard and remained until 1975.
- Additionally, officers from all 13 participating nations fill subordinate leadership positions throughout the wing.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
Facts about Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN):
- The closest airport to Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN) is Valle Airport (VLE), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) S of GCN.
- Air West, the predecessor airline to Hughes Airwest, also operated Douglas DC-9 jets from the airport in addition to flying services with Fairchild F-27 turboprops.
- The furthest airport from Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,285 miles (18,162 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN) currently has only 1 runway.
- Grand Canyon National Park Airport covers an area of 859 acres at an elevation of 6,609 feet above mean sea level.
- Because of Grand Canyon National Park Airport's high elevation of 6,609 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GCN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GCN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
