Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Grosseto, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Grosseto Airport (GRS), Grosseto, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,519 miles (or 8,882 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 Grosseto 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 Grosseto Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• 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.
• 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 AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• The 3950th Technical Training Wing was designated the Sheppard Technical Training Center 1 January 1959.
• The 3630th Flying Training Wing also provided undergraduate pilot training for pilots of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force from 1971 to 1975.

Facts about Grosseto Airport (GRS):

• Grosseto Airport (GRS) has 2 runways.
• Although it is classified as a "joint use" facility, Grosseto Air Base is primarily an Italian Air Force Base, home of the 4th Stormo, equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 15 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Grosseto Airport (GRS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Grosseto Airport (meaning Grosseto Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,051 miles (19,395 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Grosseto Airport (GRS) is Siena-Ampugnano Airport (SAY), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of GRS.
• Because of Grosseto Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Grosseto 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grosseto Airport", other names for GRS include "Aeroporto di Grosseto" and "Grosseto Airport".
• Grosseto Airport handled 4,382 passengers last year.