Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Arrecife, Canary Islands, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Lanzarote Airport (ACE), Arrecife, Canary Islands, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,887 miles (or 6,255 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 Shaw Air Force Base and Lanzarote Airport, 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 Shaw Air Force Base and Lanzarote Airport. 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 Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
• 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.

Facts about Lanzarote Airport (ACE):

• In addition to being known as "Lanzarote Airport", another name for ACE is "Aeropuerto de Lanzarote".
• In 2002, in response to interest from both tourists and local people about the island's aviation heritage, Aena decided to use the Guacimeta passenger terminal as an aviation museum.
• Lanzarote Airport, also known as Arrecife Airport, is the airport serving the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
• In the 1930s a need for an aerodrome on the island became evident when connections were required with the other islands and the mainland, as well as a refuelling point for aircraft.
• The closest airport to Lanzarote Airport (ACE) is Fuerteventura Airport (FUE), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) SSW of ACE.
• Lanzarote Airport (ACE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lanzarote Airport (ACE) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Lanzarote Airport (meaning Lanzarote Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,343 miles (19,865 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• Lanzarote Airport handled 5,334,598 passengers last year.
• Because of Lanzarote Airport's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at Lanzarote Airport 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 1999 a new passenger terminal opened, with a capacity of 6 million passengers per annum.