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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Parakou Airport (PKO), Parakou, Benin would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,482 miles (or 10,432 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 Parakou 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 Parakou 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):

• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
• Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
• 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.
• Sheppard AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
• Helicopter pilot training was transferred from Stead AFB, Nevada in October 1965, with H-19, H-43, Bell TH-1F, CH-3C and HH-3E helicopters used for training.
• 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.
• 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 80th Flying Training Wing began conducting the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program in 1981.
• 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.

Facts about Parakou Airport (PKO):

• Parakou Airport (PKO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Parakou Airport (PKO) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Parakou Airport (meaning Parakou Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,197 miles (19,629 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.
• The closest airport to Parakou Airport (PKO) is Djougou Airport (DJA), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) WNW of PKO.
• In addition to being known as "Parakou Airport", another name for PKO is "Parakou Airport (Parakou)".