Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SSC to ASI:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- SSC Airport Information
- ASI Airport Information
- Facts about SSC
- Facts about ASI
- Map of Nearest Airports to SSC
- List of Nearest Airports to SSC
- Map of Furthest Airports from SSC
- List of Furthest Airports from SSC
- Map of Nearest Airports to ASI
- List of Nearest Airports to ASI
- Map of Furthest Airports from ASI
- List of Furthest Airports from ASI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,195 miles (or 8,361 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 Shaw Air Force Base and RAF Ascension, 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 Shaw Air Force Base and RAF Ascension. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SSC / KSSC |
Airport Name: | Shaw Air Force Base |
Location: | Sumter, South Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°58'23"N by 80°28'22"W |
View all routes: | Routes from SSC |
More Information: | SSC Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ASI / FHAW |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena |
GPS Coordinates: | 7°58'9"S by 14°23'38"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from ASI |
More Information: | ASI Maps & Info |
Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):
- The 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
- For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
- Upon activation at Shaw, the 20th FW assumed the personnel and equipment of the inactivated 363d Fighter Wing.
- Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
- The furthest airport from Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,545 miles (18,580 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
- Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
- The squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.
Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):
- The NASA Tracking Station at Devil's Ashpit and the Cable & Wireless Earth Station at Donkey Plain were built in the "mid-sixties" for space operations and communications, including the latter's use for transmitting "microwave borne data via the Early Bird Satellite back to the NASA facility at Andover, Maine.
- The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
- RAF Ascension Island was re-garrisoned by the RAF in 1982 and used extensively as a staging base during the Falklands War.
- In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".
- Ascension serves as a diversion airport for ETOPS aircraft crossing the Atlantic.
- The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.