Nonstop flight route between Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Henderson Field (MDY), Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,517 miles (or 8,879 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 Henderson Field 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 Henderson Field 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 Henderson Field (MDY):

• The closest airport to Henderson Field (MDY) is Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), which is located 937 miles (1,508 kilometers) SE of MDY.
• After transition from the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Henderson Field (MDY) is Lüderitz Airport (LUD), which is located 11,656 miles (18,759 kilometers) away in Luderitz, Namibia.
• The airfield was previously served by Aloha Airlines with scheduled weekly charter flghts to and from Honolulu utilizing a Boeing 737-200 jetliner.
• Henderson Field (MDY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Henderson Field's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Henderson Field 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• On 1 April 1951, the 363d TRW was transferred to Shaw from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing would remain at Shaw, under various designations, for the next 43 years.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• 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.
• 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.