Nonstop flight route between Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pukarua Airport (PUK), Pukarua, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,183 miles (or 8,341 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 Pukarua 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 Pukarua 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 Pukarua Airport (PUK):

• In addition to being known as "Pukarua Airport", another name for PUK is "Aérodrome de Pukarua".
• Pukarua Airport (PUK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Pukarua Airport (PUK) is Nukutavake Airport (NUK), which is located 134 miles (215 kilometers) WSW of PUK.
• The furthest airport from Pukarua Airport (PUK) is Abha Regional Airport (AHB), which is nearly antipodal to Pukarua Airport (meaning Pukarua Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Abha Regional Airport), and is located 12,415 miles (19,980 kilometers) away in Abha / Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons Group, was a part of Strategic Air Command from July 1947 – May 1951, at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana as an Air Force Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel.
• In addition to the 363d TRW, Headquarters Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 1 September 1954.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• 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.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• As a result of the end of the Cold War, the Air Force made several dramatic changes with the inactivation and re-designation of wings and their units.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.