Nonstop flight route between St. Helens, Tasmania, Australia and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from HLS to SSC:
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- About this route
- HLS Airport Information
- SSC Airport Information
- Facts about HLS
- Facts about SSC
- Map of Nearest Airports to HLS
- List of Nearest Airports to HLS
- Map of Furthest Airports from HLS
- List of Furthest Airports from HLS
- Map of Nearest Airports to SSC
- List of Nearest Airports to SSC
- Map of Furthest Airports from SSC
- List of Furthest Airports from SSC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between St Helens Airport (HLS), St. Helens, Tasmania, Australia and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,758 miles (or 15,703 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 St Helens 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 St Helens 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HLS / YSTH |
Airport Name: | St Helens Airport |
Location: | St. Helens, Tasmania, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°20'12"S by 148°16'54"E |
Operator/Owner: | Break O'Day Council |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 158 feet (48 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from HLS |
More Information: | HLS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SSC / KSSC |
Airport Name: | Shaw Air Force Base |
Location: | Sumter, South Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°58'23"N by 80°28'22"W |
View all routes: | Routes from SSC |
More Information: | SSC Maps & Info |
Facts about St Helens Airport (HLS):
- St Helens Airport (HLS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from St Helens Airport (HLS) is Corvo Airport (CVU), which is nearly antipodal to St Helens Airport (meaning St Helens Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Corvo Airport), and is located 12,317 miles (19,823 kilometers) away in Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal.
- The closest airport to St Helens Airport (HLS) is Launceston Airport (LST), which is located 57 miles (92 kilometers) WSW of HLS.
- Because of St Helens Airport's relatively low elevation of 158 feet, planes can take off or land at St Helens 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.
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.
- On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
- 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.
- With the closure of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base South Carolina and the inactivation of the 354th Fighter Wing, the 21st Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated at Shaw and received 30 Republic A/OA-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the inactivating 355th Fighter Squadron on 1 April 1992.
- 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 March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.