Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SPS to GOM:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- SPS Airport Information
- GOM Airport Information
- Facts about SPS
- Facts about GOM
- 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 GOM
- List of Nearest Airports to GOM
- Map of Furthest Airports from GOM
- List of Furthest Airports from GOM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Goma Airport (GOM), Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,399 miles (or 13,517 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 Goma 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 Goma 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: | GOM / FZNA |
Airport Name: | Goma Airport |
Location: | Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
GPS Coordinates: | 1°40'11"S by 29°14'17"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5089 feet (1,551 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GOM |
More Information: | GOM Maps & Info |
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- The Air Force School of Health Care Sciences offered training in dentistry, medicine, nursing, and health-services administration.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
- 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 aircraft mechanics school was transferred to Sheppard from Keesler AFB, Mississippi in April 1949 to make room for expansion of electronic training at that base.
- 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 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 Goma Airport (GOM):
- Because of Goma Airport's high elevation of 5,089 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GOM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GOM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- On 19 November 2009, Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Flight 3711, operated by McDonnell Douglas MD-82 9Q-CAB overran the runway on landing, suffering substantial damage.
- The closest airport to Goma Airport (GOM) is Gisenyi Airport (GYI), which is located only 2 miles (2 kilometers) ESE of GOM.
- The furthest airport from Goma Airport (GOM) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,981 miles (19,282 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
- Goma Airport (GOM) currently has only 1 runway.