Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Barter Island, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SSC to BTI:
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- About this route
- SSC Airport Information
- BTI Airport Information
- Facts about SSC
- Facts about BTI
- 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 BTI
- List of Nearest Airports to BTI
- Map of Furthest Airports from BTI
- List of Furthest Airports from BTI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Barter Island LRRS Airport (BTI), Barter Island, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,402 miles (or 5,474 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 Barter Island LRRS Airport, 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 Barter Island LRRS Airport. 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: | BTI / PABA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Barter Island, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 70°8'2"N by 143°34'54"W |
Operator/Owner: | North Slope Borough |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 2 feet (1 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BTI |
More Information: | BTI Maps & Info |
Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):
- For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
- 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.
- By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
Facts about Barter Island LRRS Airport (BTI):
- The furthest airport from Barter Island LRRS Airport (BTI) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,003 miles (16,099 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- In addition to being known as "Barter Island LRRS Airport", another name for BTI is "Barter Island LRRS BAR-MAIN".
- Barter Island LRRS Airport (BTI) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Barter Island LRRS Airport's relatively low elevation of 2 feet, planes can take off or land at Barter Island LRRS Airport 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.
- Each of the sites was staffed by civilian contract workers who had signed 18-month contracts, although they were visited by Air Force military personnel frequently.
- Barter Island LRRS Airport has one runway designed 7/25 with a gravel surface measuring 4,820 by 100 feet.
- With the signing of the North American Air Defence Modernization agreement at the "Shamrock Summit" between Prime Minister Mulroney and President Reagan in Quebec City on 18 March 1985, the DEW Line began its eventual upgrading and transition becoming the North Warning System of today.
- The closest airport to Barter Island LRRS Airport (BTI) is Deadhorse Airport (SCC), which is located 115 miles (184 kilometers) W of BTI.
- The radar station was upgraded with an AN/FPS-117 minimally attended Long Range surveillance radar in the winter of 1990.