Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Aalesund, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Ålesund Airport, Vigra (AES), Aalesund, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,060 miles (or 6,534 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 Ålesund Airport, Vigra, 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 Ålesund Airport, Vigra. 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):

• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• The 363rd Fighter Wing was inactivated at Shaw AFB on 31 December 1993, and the next day, 1 January 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, returning to the base it had left for duty with NATO forty-one years earlier.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
• 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.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.
• 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 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 Ålesund Airport, Vigra (AES):

• Today the airport is served by an increasing number of national and international carriers.
• In addition to being known as "Ålesund Airport, Vigra", another name for AES is "Ålesund lufthavn, Vigra".
• Ålesund Airport, Vigra handled 1,077,209 passengers last year.
• Braathens to Oslo-Fornebu, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stavanger, Bergen, Bodø and Trondheim
• Because of Ålesund Airport, Vigra's relatively low elevation of 70 feet, planes can take off or land at Ålesund Airport, Vigra 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.
• With a large number of scheduled flights being introduced in 2013, demand still seems to outgrow supply, and an ever increasing number of international flights are being offered from the airport.
• The furthest airport from Ålesund Airport, Vigra (AES) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,147 miles (17,940 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Norwegian Air Shuttle to Trondheim-Værnes, Bergen-Flesland
• Molde Airport, Kristiansund Airport and Ørsta/Volda Airport were opened in later years and serve as secondary regional airports for the region, providing domestic services today mostly served by smaller propeller aircraft.
• Ålesund Airport, Vigra (AES) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bus services leave for the town centre and outer town areas every 30 minutes.
• The closest airport to Ålesund Airport, Vigra (AES) is Ørsta–Volda Airport, Hovden (HOV), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) S of AES.