Nonstop flight route between Johannesburg, South Africa and Wichita Falls, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from QRA to SPS:
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- About this route
- QRA Airport Information
- SPS Airport Information
- Facts about QRA
- Facts about SPS
- Map of Nearest Airports to QRA
- List of Nearest Airports to QRA
- Map of Furthest Airports from QRA
- List of Furthest Airports from QRA
- 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 Rand Airport (QRA), Johannesburg, South Africa and Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS), Wichita Falls, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,239 miles (or 14,868 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 Rand Airport and Sheppard Air Force Base, 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 Rand Airport and Sheppard Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | QRA / FAGM |
Airport Name: | Rand Airport |
Location: | Johannesburg, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 26°14'32"S by 28°9'3"E |
Operator/Owner: | Rand Airport Management Company (Pty) Ltd. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5482 feet (1,671 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from QRA |
More Information: | QRA 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 Rand Airport (QRA):
- The airport is also home to the Flying Lions Aerobatic Team.
- Because of Rand Airport's high elevation of 5,482 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at QRA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make QRA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Rand Airport (QRA) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,977 miles (19,275 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
- de Havilland DH 104 Dove and Lockheed L18-08 Lodestar on view at the South African Airways Museum Society at Rand Airport.
- The closest airport to Rand Airport (QRA) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NE of QRA.
- Rand Airport (QRA) has 2 runways.
- In October 2000, the airport was privatized.
Facts about Sheppard Air Force Base (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 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.
- 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.
- Sheppard AFB shares one runway with Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
- Sheppard AFB began providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties during World War II.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Sheppard Air Force Base", another name for SPS is "Sheppard AFB".
- Sheppard Field reached its peak strength of 46,340 people while serving as a separation center for troops being discharged following World War II from September through November 1945.