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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Heligoland Airport (HGL), Düne, Helgoland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,296 miles (or 6,913 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 Heligoland 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 Heligoland 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 Heligoland Airport (HGL):

• In addition to being known as "Heligoland Airport", another name for HGL is "Flughafen Helgoland-Düne".
• The airport is licensed for aeroplanes up to 5,700 kilograms maximum takeoff weight and helicopters up to 10,000 kilograms.
• The closest airport to Heligoland Airport (HGL) is Wangerooge Airport (AGE), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) S of HGL.
• The furthest airport from Heligoland Airport (HGL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,693 miles (18,819 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Heligoland Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Heligoland 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.
• From 2005 to 2006, the main runway was extended from 400 m to 480 m for compliance with EU regulations on commercial air traffic.
• The first military airfield on Düne existed during World War II when Heligoland had been fortified.
• Heligoland Airport (HGL) has 3 runways.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (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.
• The group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons Group, was a part of Strategic Air Command from July 1947 – May 1951, at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana as an Air Force Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• 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 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• 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.
• As a result of the end of the Cold War, the Air Force made several dramatic changes with the inactivation and re-designation of wings and their units.