Nonstop flight route between Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from TER to SSC:
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- About this route
- TER Airport Information
- SSC Airport Information
- Facts about TER
- Facts about SSC
- Map of Nearest Airports to TER
- List of Nearest Airports to TER
- Map of Furthest Airports from TER
- List of Furthest Airports from TER
- Map of Nearest Airports to SSC
- List of Nearest Airports to SSC
- Map of Furthest Airports from SSC
- List of Furthest Airports from SSC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Lajes Air Base (TER), Lajes, Azores, Portugal and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,946 miles (or 4,742 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 Lajes Air Base and Shaw 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 Lajes Air Base and Shaw 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: | TER / LPLA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Lajes, Azores, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°45'42"N by 27°5'26"W |
Area Served: | Praia da Vitória/Angra do Heroísmo |
Operator/Owner: | Portuguese Air Force/Autonomous Regional Government of the Azores |
Airport Type: | Military/Public |
Elevation: | 180 feet (55 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from TER |
More Information: | TER Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Lajes Air Base (TER):
- In addition to being known as "Lajes Air Base", other names for TER include "Base Aérea das Lajes", "Base Aérea Nº 4" and "Aeroporto das Lajes".
- In 1947, the Portuguese Esquadra 41 started to operate from Lajes, equipped with Boeing SB-17, Grumman HU-16 Albatross, Douglas C-54 Skymaster and, later Sikorsky H-19.
- The civilian terminal also plays an important role in support of passenger and cargo airliners, executive, corporate and private jets flying to the island or beyond as the central location in the Azores group of islands makes it an ideal spot for refuelling or stopover.
- Despite NATO and non-NATO fighter and transport planes which continue to use Lajes on a regular basis, the US DoD movements are now at an all time low.
- The closest airport to Lajes Air Base (TER) is Graciosa Airport (GRW), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) WNW of TER.
- During the Portuguese Colonial War, from 1961 to 1975, the Air Force Hospital at Lajes operated as the main centre for treatment and rehabilitation of mutilated and heavy burned soldiers of the three services of the Portuguese Armed Forces.
- The furthest airport from Lajes Air Base (TER) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Lajes Air Base (meaning Lajes Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,229 miles (19,680 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
- Lajes Air Base (TER) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Lajes Air Base's relatively low elevation of 180 feet, planes can take off or land at Lajes Air Base 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.
Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):
- On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
- It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is one of only two air bases in CONUS with an active railroad line.
- The 363d TFW received its first F-16 on 26 March 1982.
- The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
- 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 group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons Group, was a part of Strategic Air Command from July 1947 – May 1951, at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana as an Air Force Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel.
- The 20th FG was reassigned to Langley AFB, Virginia on 1 December 1951 in preparation for a permanent overseas deployment to RAF Wethersfield, England to support NATO.
- In October 1942, the flight training was changed to Advanced flying training and AT-6 Texan single-engine and Beech AT-10 twin-engine trainers were used.