Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SPS to HYC:
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- About this route
- SPS Airport Information
- HYC Airport Information
- Facts about SPS
- Facts about HYC
- 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 HYC
- List of Nearest Airports to HYC
- Map of Furthest Airports from HYC
- List of Furthest Airports from HYC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and RAF High Wycombe (HYC), High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,719 miles (or 7,594 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 RAF High Wycombe, 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 RAF High Wycombe. 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: | HYC / EGUH |
| Airport Name: | RAF High Wycombe |
| Location: | High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'53"N by 0°48'6"W |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
| View all routes: | Routes from HYC |
| More Information: | HYC 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 3630th Flying Training Wing was activated in 1965, and it assumed the helicopter training program.
- 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.
- 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.
- Comptroller, transportation, and intelligence training moved to Sheppard from Lowry AFB, Colorado, in the fall of 1954.
- 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.
- Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
Facts about RAF High Wycombe (HYC):
- Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, the Air Ministry sought a safe location for RAF Bomber Command away from London.
- To preserve secrecy, the station was known as "Southdown" in March 1940, as part of a directive by the Air Ministry.
- RAF High Wycombe is situated roughly three miles from the town of High Wycombe over three sites - No 1 Site houses the Command HQ and the Combined Air Operations Centre, No 2 Site houses the officers' mess, while No 3 site is the domestic site, airmen and NCO's quarters, MT yard, PT flight and Supply Flight.
- The closest airport to RAF High Wycombe (HYC) is RAF Benson (BEX), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) WSW of HYC.
- Buildings were designed to resemble other uses, such as the Officers' Mess which was built to look like a manor house.
- The Ministry of Defence and Serco Group agreed a ten-year contract in February 2010 whereby Serco would provide support services at RAF High Wycombe and RAF Halton, including leisure services, general engineering and catering.
- The furthest airport from RAF High Wycombe (HYC) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,867 miles (19,098 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
