Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Kuusamo, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Kuusamo Airport (KAO), Kuusamo, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,995 miles (or 8,038 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 Kuusamo 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 Kuusamo 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):

• 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 closest airport to Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS) is Kickapoo Downtown Airport (KIP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) S of SPS.
• Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
• In July 1969, Detachment 1, 2nd Bombardment Wing, with four B-52 aircraft, became a tenant organization at Sheppard and remained until 1975.
• 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 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.
• The 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".

Facts about Kuusamo Airport (KAO):

• Kuusamo Airport (KAO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kuusamo Airport (KAO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,624 miles (17,098 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Kuusamo Airport (KAO) is Rovaniemi Airport (RVN), which is located 102 miles (165 kilometers) WNW of KAO.
• In addition to being known as "Kuusamo Airport", another name for KAO is "Kuusamon lentoasema".
• Because of Kuusamo Airport's relatively low elevation of 866 feet, planes can take off or land at Kuusamo 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.
• Kuusamo Airport handled 82,497 passengers last year.