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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Nome Airport (OME), Nome, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,447 miles (or 5,547 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 Nome 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 Nome 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):

• 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.
• 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 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
• During World War II, then-Sheppard Field conducted basic training, and it also trained glider mechanics, technical and flying training instructors and B-29 Superfortress flight engineers.
• 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 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.
• Comptroller, transportation, and intelligence training moved to Sheppard from Lowry AFB, Colorado, in the fall of 1954.
• In February 1992, restructuring and downsizing of the Air Force caused a realignment and renumbering of units at Sheppard.

Facts about Nome Airport (OME):

• Nome Airport (OME) has 2 runways.
• Located near the airport is a pizza restaurant named Airport Pizza.
• Because of Nome Airport's relatively low elevation of 37 feet, planes can take off or land at Nome 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.
• In addition to being known as "Nome Airport", another name for OME is "(former Marks Air Force Base)".
• The furthest airport from Nome Airport (OME) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,320 miles (16,608 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Renamed Marks Air Force Base in 1948, the military installation was used as a fighter-interceptor forward base until they were pulled back to Galena Airport.
• The closest airport to Nome Airport (OME) is Teller Airport (TLA), which is located 57 miles (91 kilometers) NNW of OME.