Nonstop flight route between Kerama Islands, Okinawa, Japan and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kerama Airport (KJP), Kerama Islands, Okinawa, Japan and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,900 miles (or 12,714 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 Kerama 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 Kerama 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 Kerama Airport (KJP):

• In addition to being known as "Kerama Airport", other names for KJP include "慶良間空港" and "Kerama Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Kerama Airport (KJP) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kerama Airport (meaning Kerama Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,977 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Kerama Airport (KJP) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) E of KJP.
• Because of Kerama Airport's relatively low elevation of 156 feet, planes can take off or land at Kerama 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.
• Kerama Airport (KJP) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• In October 1942, the flight training was changed to Advanced flying training and AT-6 Texan single-engine and Beech AT-10 twin-engine trainers were used.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.