Nonstop flight route between Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States and Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC), Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,042 miles (or 11,332 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 Ürümqi Diwopu International 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 Ürümqi Diwopu International 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 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
• 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 addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "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.
• 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.
• The 80th Flying Training Wing began conducting the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program in 1981.

Facts about Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC):

• Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport is an airport serving Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China.
• In addition to being known as "Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport", other names for URC include "ئۈرۈمچى دىئوپا خەلقئارا ئايروپورتى乌鲁木齐地窝堡国际机场" and "Wūlǔmùqí Dìwōpù Guójì Jīcháng".
• Ürümqi Airport was opened to foreign passengers in 1973, and has been the emergency landing ground for airlines to Europe and west Asia.
• Summer 2005 saw Diwopu get a boost when the airport started receiving major foreign airlines.
• The furthest airport from Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) is Gamboa Airport (WCA), which is located 11,489 miles (18,490 kilometers) away in Castro, Chile.
• The airport covers an area of 4.84 million sq.
• Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport handled 11,078,597 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) is Turpan Jiaohe Airport (TLQ), which is located 102 miles (163 kilometers) SE of URC.