Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Kerikeri, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Kerikeri Airport (KKE), Kerikeri, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,401 miles (or 11,911 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 Kerikeri 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 Kerikeri 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):

• 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.
• The 3630th Flying Training Wing was activated in 1965, and it assumed the helicopter training program.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Comptroller, transportation, and intelligence training moved to Sheppard from Lowry AFB, Colorado, in the fall of 1954.
• 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 addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".

Facts about Kerikeri Airport (KKE):

• The airport was initially a grass airstrip created in the early 1930s.
• These distances are within the range of many light aircraft when fitted with long range tanks, while the direct distance without using Norfolk Island as a stepping stone is usually beyond their capabilities.
• The closest airport to Kerikeri Airport (KKE) is Kaikohe Aerodrome (KKO), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) SSW of KKE.
• Because of Kerikeri Airport's relatively low elevation of 492 feet, planes can take off or land at Kerikeri 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.
• Kerikeri Airport (KKE) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Kerikeri Airport (KKE) is Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG), which is nearly antipodal to Kerikeri Airport (meaning Kerikeri Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport), and is located 12,403 miles (19,961 kilometers) away in Tangier, Morocco.