Nonstop flight route between Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VLE to SPS:
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- About this route
- VLE Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about VLE
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to VLE
- List of Nearest Airports to VLE
- Map of Furthest Airports from VLE
- List of Furthest Airports from VLE
- 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 Valle Airport (VLE), Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 782 miles (or 1,259 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 Valle Airport 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: | VLE / |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 35°38'58"N by 112°8'30"W |
| Area Served: | Valle, Arizona |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 5999 feet (1,828 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from VLE |
| More Information: | VLE 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 Valle Airport (VLE):
- The Valle branch of Planes of Fame opened in 1995 because the Chino collection had grown so greatly an additional facility was needed.
- The closest airport to Valle Airport (VLE) is Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) N of VLE.
- Valle Airport (VLE) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Valle Airport's high elevation of 5,999 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at VLE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make VLE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- For the 12-month period ending April 20, 2009, the airport had 6,500 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 18 per day.
- In addition to being known as "Valle Airport", another name for VLE is "40G".
- The furthest airport from Valle Airport (VLE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,305 miles (18,194 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS):
- 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.
- 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 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.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
- 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.
- 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.
- Sheppard AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
- The 80th FTW mission is to provide combat airpower by producing top quality fighter pilots for the NATO alliance.
- In February 1992, restructuring and downsizing of the Air Force caused a realignment and renumbering of units at Sheppard.
