Nonstop flight route between Reims, France and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE), Reims, France and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,258 miles (or 6,852 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 Reims-Champagne Air Base 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 Reims-Champagne Air Base 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 Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE):

• In addition to being known as "Reims-Champagne Air Base", another name for RHE is "Base aérienne 112Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-62".
• With the breakout of World War II in 1939, Reims was reinforced with additional units.
• The base was reactivated in 1949 as an active French Air Force base.
• The closest airport to Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) is Château-Thierry - Belleau Aerodrome (XCY), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) WSW of RHE.
• In 2008 it was announced that the base would be closed.
• Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Reims-Champagne Air Base (meaning Reims-Champagne Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,056 miles (19,402 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Reims-Champagne Air Base's relatively low elevation of 314 feet, planes can take off or land at Reims-Champagne Air Base 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):

• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• 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.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.