Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Reus (near Tarragona), Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Reus Airport (REU), Reus (near Tarragona), Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,165 miles (or 8,311 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 Reus 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 Reus 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):

• It was officially opened as an Army Air Corps training center on 17 October 1941, following the arrival of the first military members on 14 June.
• Sheppard AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
• 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.
• 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.
• In July 1969, Detachment 1, 2nd Bombardment Wing, with four B-52 aircraft, became a tenant organization at Sheppard and remained until 1975.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".

Facts about Reus Airport (REU):

• The closest airport to Reus Airport (REU) is Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) ENE of REU.
• Reus Airport (REU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Car park P1 is for the rental cars, buses and Aena employees which has a capacity for 318 hire cars, 87 for employees and 26 for buses.
• On 29 June 2011 Ryanair announced that their base would close on 30 October with the loss of 28 routes after failing to reach an agreement with the local Government.
• Because of Reus Airport's relatively low elevation of 233 feet, planes can take off or land at Reus 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.
• Reus Airport handled 971,166 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Reus Airport (REU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Reus Airport (meaning Reus Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,217 miles (19,661 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Reus Airport", another name for REU is "Aeroport de Reus".
• The airport receives a large amount of tourist traffic from passengers destined for the beach resorts of Salou and Cambrils as well as for Barcelona, which is approximately 100 km to the northeast.