Nonstop flight route between Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from TCL to SPS:
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- About this route
- TCL Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about TCL
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to TCL
- List of Nearest Airports to TCL
- Map of Furthest Airports from TCL
- List of Furthest Airports from TCL
- Map of Nearest Airports to SPS
- List of Nearest Airports to SPS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPS
- List of Furthest Airports from SPS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Tuscaloosa Regional AirportVan De Graaff Field (TCL), Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 628 miles (or 1,011 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 Tuscaloosa Regional AirportVan De Graaff Field and Sheppard Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | TCL / KTCL |
| Airport Name: | Tuscaloosa Regional AirportVan De Graaff Field |
| Location: | Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 33°13'14"N by 87°36'41"W |
| Area Served: | Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Tuscaloosa |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 170 feet (52 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from TCL |
| More Information: | TCL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SPS / KSPS |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Wichita Falls, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 33°59'20"N by 98°29'30"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from SPS |
| More Information: | SPS Maps & Info |
Facts about Tuscaloosa Regional AirportVan De Graaff Field (TCL):
- Because of Tuscaloosa Regional AirportVan De Graaff Field's relatively low elevation of 170 feet, planes can take off or land at Tuscaloosa Regional AirportVan De Graaff Field 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.
- Tuscaloosa Regional Airport had 2,400 commercial passenger boardings in calendar year 2011.
- Pilot training was provided under contact by the Alabama Institute of Aeronautics, Inc.
- The Civil Aeronautics Administration designated van de Graff Field as an intermediate field.
- Tuscaloosa Regional AirportVan De Graaff Field (TCL) has 2 runways.
- While visiting Tuscaloosa on April 29, 2011, to assess devastation reliefs efforts in the wake of the April 27th tornado disaster, President Barack Obama landed at Tuscaloosa Regional Airport in the Boeing C-32 presidential transport plane.
- The furthest airport from Tuscaloosa Regional AirportVan De Graaff Field (TCL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,131 miles (17,914 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Tuscaloosa Regional AirportVan De Graaff Field (TCL) is George Downer Airport (AIV), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WSW of TCL.
- Runway 11/29 was paved in the early 1950s.
- Military operations were inactivated on September 8, 1944, with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
- The aircraft mechanics school was transferred to Sheppard from Keesler AFB, Mississippi in April 1949 to make room for expansion of electronic training at that base.
- 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.
- 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 3630th Flying Training Wing also provided undergraduate pilot training for pilots of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force from 1971 to 1975.
- 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.
- Additionally, officers from all 13 participating nations fill subordinate leadership positions throughout the wing.
