Nonstop flight route between Ballina, New South Wales, Australia and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), Ballina, New South Wales, Australia and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,267 miles (or 14,913 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 Ballina Byron Gateway Airport 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 Ballina Byron Gateway Airport 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK):

• Because of Ballina Byron Gateway Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Ballina Byron Gateway 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.
• The closest airport to Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) is Lismore Airport (LSY), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) W of BNK.
• The upgrade will in the future involve a taxiway being built for the runway and many more facilities for the airport.
• Ballina Byron Gateway Airport handled 291,322 passengers last year.
• It is 5 km from the Ballina CBD, in Southern Cross Drive.
• The furthest airport from Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,911 miles (19,168 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The 363rd Fighter Wing was inactivated at Shaw AFB on 31 December 1993, and the next day, 1 January 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, returning to the base it had left for duty with NATO forty-one years earlier.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• 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.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.