Nonstop flight route between Guangyuan, Sichuan, China and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Guangyuan Airport (GYS), Guangyuan, Sichuan, China and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,834 miles (or 12,607 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 Guangyuan 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 Guangyuan 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 Guangyuan Airport (GYS):

• In addition to being known as "Guangyuan Airport", other names for GYS include "广元机场" and "Guǎngyuán Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Guangyuan Airport (GYS) is Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG), which is located 87 miles (140 kilometers) SW of GYS.
• Because of Guangyuan Airport's high elevation of 14,472 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GYS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GYS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Guangyuan Airport (GYS) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is nearly antipodal to Guangyuan Airport (meaning Guangyuan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Viña del Mar Airport), and is located 12,268 miles (19,744 kilometers) away in Viña del Mar, Chile.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• 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.
• On 1 April 1951, the 363d TRW was transferred to Shaw from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing would remain at Shaw, under various designations, for the next 43 years.
• 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 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.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.