Nonstop flight route between Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI), Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,334 miles (or 6,974 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 Heide-Büsum 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 Heide-Büsum 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 Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI):

• The furthest airport from Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,683 miles (18,801 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Heide-Büsum Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Heide-Büsum 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 Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI) is Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN), which is located 28 miles (46 kilometers) SSW of HEI.
• In addition to being known as "Heide-Büsum Airport", another name for HEI is "Flugplatz Heide-Büsum".

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• 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.
• In addition to the 363d TRW, Headquarters Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 1 September 1954.
• 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.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.
• On 9 August 1990, the 17th and 33d TFS of 363d TFW became the first F-16 squadrons to deploy to the United Arab Emirates in Operation Desert Shield.