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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Laredo International Airport (LRD), Laredo, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 449 miles (or 723 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 relatively short distance between Sheppard Air Force Base and Laredo International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
• 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 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.
• Additionally, officers from all 13 participating nations fill subordinate leadership positions throughout the wing.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• The 3630th Flying Training Wing also provided undergraduate pilot training for pilots of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force from 1971 to 1975.
• Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States.

Facts about Laredo International Airport (LRD):

• Laredo International Airport covers an area of 1,796 acres at an elevation of 508 feet above mean sea level.
• Because of Laredo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 508 feet, planes can take off or land at Laredo International 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.
• The closest airport to Laredo International Airport (LRD) is Quetzalcóatl International Airport (NLD), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) SW of LRD.
• Laredo International Airport (LRD) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Laredo International Airport (LRD) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,226 miles (18,066 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The Laredo International Airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II as Laredo Army Airfield, and by the United States Air Force as Laredo Air Force Base during the Cold War as a pilot training base with T-33 Shooting Star and later T-37 Tweet and T-38 Talon aircraft.
• At the entrance to the airport is the statue "Among Friends There Are No Borders", designed by Armando Hinojosa of Laredo, which depicts a South Texas vaquero and a Mexican charro sharing a campfire.