Nonstop flight route between Cholet, France and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cholet Le Pontreau Airport (CET), Cholet, France and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,094 miles (or 6,589 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 Cholet Le Pontreau 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 Cholet Le Pontreau 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 Cholet Le Pontreau Airport (CET):

• The closest airport to Cholet Le Pontreau Airport (CET) is Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) W of CET.
• In addition to being known as "Cholet Le Pontreau Airport", another name for CET is "Aéroport de Cholet Le Pontreau".
• Cholet Le Pontreau Airport (CET) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Cholet Le Pontreau Airport (CET) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Cholet Le Pontreau Airport (meaning Cholet Le Pontreau Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,125 miles (19,514 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• 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.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• 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.
• 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.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.