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
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- 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):
- During the 2000s, the city of Tuscaloosa and the airport attempted to lure commercial service back to the airport.
- 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.
- Runway 11/29 was paved in the early 1950s.
- The Civil Aeronautics Administration designated van de Graff Field as an intermediate field.
- 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.
- 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.
- Jet charters continue to periodically operate at Tuscaloosa, but sustained commercial air service has eluded Tuscaloosa Regional to date.
- DayJet announced per seat VLJ service on two pilot planes nonstop to 14 hubs in 3 states in July 2008 from Tuscaloosa.
- Tuscaloosa Regional Airport covers an area of 724 acres at an elevation of 170 feet above mean sea level.
- Tuscaloosa Regional AirportVan De Graaff Field (TCL) has 2 runways.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- 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".
- 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 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 Air Force School of Health Care Sciences offered training in dentistry, medicine, nursing, and health-services administration.
- 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 host unit at Sheppard is the 82d Training Wing, which provides specialized technical training, medical, and field training for officers, Airmen, and civilians of all branches of the military, other DoD agencies, and foreign nationals.
- 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.
