Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ), Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,850 miles (or 7,805 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 Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale 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 Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale 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):

• 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 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 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 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 3630th Flying Training Wing was activated in 1965, and it assumed the helicopter training program.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ):

• The furthest airport from Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,965 miles (19,256 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport", another name for LTQ is "Aéroport de Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale".
• Because of Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale 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 Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport (LTQ) is Aerodrome Abbeville (XAB), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSE of LTQ.
• Le Touquet airport is featured in the Microsoft Flight Simulator X mission Blind Across The Channel, in which the player flies a Cessna 172 from Manston Airport in Kent, UK on a foggy day using IFR.