Nonstop flight route between Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dien Bien Phu Airport (DIN), Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,604 miles (or 13,847 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 Dien Bien Phu 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 Dien Bien Phu 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 Dien Bien Phu Airport (DIN):

• The furthest airport from Dien Bien Phu Airport (DIN) is Carolina Airport (CLN), which is located 11,998 miles (19,308 kilometers) away in Carolina, Maranhão, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Dien Bien Phu Airport", another name for DIN is "Sân bay Điện Biên Phủ".
• Dien Bien Phu Airport (DIN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Dien Bien Phu Airport (DIN) is Oudomsay Airport (ODY), which is located 82 miles (132 kilometers) SW of DIN.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The 20th Fighter Group was first equipped with North American P-51D, then exchanged its P-51's in February 1948 for F-84B Thunderjets, the first TAC group to receive operational F-84s.
• 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.
• 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.
• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.