Nonstop flight route between Knock, Ireland and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC), Knock, Ireland and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,645 miles (or 5,865 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 Ireland West Airport Knock 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 Ireland West Airport Knock 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 Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC):

• In November 2011 Ryanair announced flights to Beauvais-Tillé, Frankfurt Hahn, Bergamo-Orio al Serio and Girona-Costa Brava from March 2012.
• The furthest airport from Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,934 miles (19,206 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Since 2003, flag-carrier, low-cost and regional airlines including Aer Lingus, MyTravelLite, Bmibaby, Ryanair, Aer Arann, flybe, Lufthansa and EasyJet have added routes to the UK and mainland Europe.
• The closest airport to Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) is Sligo Airport (SXL), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NNE of NOC.
• 2007 was a notable year, with scheduled transatlantic services to New York and Boston commencing in May, operated by the now-defunct Flyglobespan.
• Because of Ireland West Airport Knock's relatively low elevation of 665 feet, planes can take off or land at Ireland West Airport Knock 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ireland West Airport Knock", other names for NOC include "Horan International Airport" and "Aerfort Iarthar Éireann".
• Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Ireland West Airport Knock handled 665,000 passengers last year.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• 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 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 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.