Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Lelystad, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Lelystad Airport (LEY), Lelystad, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,925 miles (or 7,926 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 Lelystad 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 Lelystad 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):

• 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 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.
• Sheppard AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• 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 80th Flying Training Wing began conducting the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program in 1981.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Lelystad Airport (LEY):

• As Lelystad is the biggest General Aviation airfield in the Netherlands, AOPA is concerned that commercial aviation will have a negative impact on the General Aviation users, and has proposed the construction of a new parallel runway south of the airport to improve traffic flow.
• The closest airport to Lelystad Airport (LEY) is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) WSW of LEY.
• The furthest airport from Lelystad Airport (LEY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,832 miles (19,042 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Lelystad Airport's relatively low elevation of -12 feet, planes can take off or land at Lelystad 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.
• An expansion of the airport is planned which would allow mainly budget airlines, holiday charters and regional airlines using aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320 series to operate from Lelystad.
• In 1993 the Schiphol Group became the owner of the airport.
• Lelystad Airport (LEY) has 2 runways.