Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Tampa International Airport (TPA), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,031 miles (or 1,659 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 relatively short distance between Sheppard Air Force Base and Tampa International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):

• The 80th Flying Training Wing began conducting the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program in 1981.
• 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 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".
• 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.

Facts about Tampa International Airport (TPA):

• Because of Tampa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Tampa International 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.
• Turbine-powered flights began in 1959 on Eastern Air Lines' L-188 Electra.
• Tampa International Airport (TPA) has 3 runways.
• Tampa International Airport's Landside/Airside terminal was the first of its type in the world.
• The closest airport to Tampa International Airport (TPA) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SE of TPA.
• The 1952 terminal was congested as larger jets replaced piston airliners and it was again expanded.
• There has been a propensity in local Tampa Bay area news media outlets and other business and governmental entities in the Tampa Bay region outside of the professional aviation community to refer to the airport as "TIA" versus the airport's actual airport code of "TPA" in either reporting or reference.
• Today, TPA Airport handles about 16.6 million passengers per year) and improvements currently in progress will increase capacity to 25-million passengers a year.
• The furthest airport from Tampa International Airport (TPA) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,435 miles (18,403 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.