Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Kuruman, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), Kuruman, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,002 miles (or 14,487 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 Johan Pienaar 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 Johan Pienaar 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.
• The Air Force School of Health Care Sciences offered training in dentistry, medicine, nursing, and health-services administration.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• The host unit at Sheppard is the 82d Training Wing, which provides specialized technical training, medical, and field training for officers, Airmen, and civilians of all branches of the military, other DoD agencies, and foreign nationals.
• 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 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.
• Over the next three decades three training schools were stationed at the base training students in aircraft maintenance, transportation, communication, civil engineering, Aircrew Life Support and field training.
• The host unit on Sheppard Air Force Base is the 82nd Training Wing whose mission makes it the most diversified training base within the Air Education and Training Command.
• Control and accountability for Sheppard Field was transferred to the Department of the Air Force 1 August 1948 and was reactivated 15 August 1948 to supplement Lackland AFB, Texas, as a basic training center renamed as Sheppard AFB.

Facts about Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH):

• Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH) is Kimberley Airport (KIM), which is located 124 miles (200 kilometers) SE of KMH.
• Because of Johan Pienaar Airport's high elevation of 4,382 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KMH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KMH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is nearly antipodal to Johan Pienaar Airport (meaning Johan Pienaar Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Princeville Airport), and is located 12,032 miles (19,364 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.