Nonstop flight route between Hluhluwe, South Africa and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hluhluwe Airport (HLW), Hluhluwe, South Africa and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,503 miles (or 13,684 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 Hluhluwe 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 Hluhluwe 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 Hluhluwe Airport (HLW):

• Because of Hluhluwe Airport's relatively low elevation of 249 feet, planes can take off or land at Hluhluwe 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 Hluhluwe Airport (HLW) is Richards Bay Airport (RCB), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) SSW of HLW.
• Hluhluwe Airport (HLW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Hluhluwe Airport (HLW) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,716 miles (18,855 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• 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 20th FG was reassigned to Langley AFB, Virginia on 1 December 1951 in preparation for a permanent overseas deployment to RAF Wethersfield, England to support NATO.