Nonstop flight route between Makokou, Gabon and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Makokou Airport (MKU), Makokou, Gabon and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,389 miles (or 10,282 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 Makokou 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 Makokou 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 Makokou Airport (MKU):

• Makokou Airport (MKU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Makokou Airport (MKU) is Kelle Airport (KEE), which is located 122 miles (197 kilometers) ESE of MKU.
• The furthest airport from Makokou Airport (MKU) is Canton Island Airport (CIS), which is nearly antipodal to Makokou Airport (meaning Makokou Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Canton Island Airport), and is located 12,085 miles (19,449 kilometers) away in Canton Island, Kiribati.

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.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• Following Desert Storm, the 19th and 33d Tactical Fighter Squadrons deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, a coalition effort to enforce the Iraqi "No Fly Zone" south of the 32nd parallel north.
• 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.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.
• 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 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.