Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Ofu, American Samoa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Ofu Airport (OFU), Ofu, American Samoa would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,733 miles (or 9,226 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 Ofu 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 Ofu 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):

• 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.
• The aircraft mechanics school was transferred to Sheppard from Keesler AFB, Mississippi in April 1949 to make room for expansion of electronic training at that base.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "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 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 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 3950th Technical Training Wing was designated the Sheppard Technical Training Center 1 January 1959.
• 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 Ofu Airport (OFU):

• In addition to being known as "Ofu Airport", other names for OFU include "NSAS" and "Z08".
• Ofu Airport (OFU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ofu Airport (OFU) is Tau Airport (TAV), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ESE of OFU.
• The furthest airport from Ofu Airport (OFU) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Ofu Airport (meaning Ofu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,342 miles (19,863 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.
• Because of Ofu Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Ofu 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.