Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and San Rafael Airport (AFA), San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,801 miles (or 7,727 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 San Rafael 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 San Rafael 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):

• 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.
• On 9 August 1990, the 17th and 33d TFS of 363d TFW became the first F-16 squadrons to deploy to the United Arab Emirates in Operation Desert Shield.
• Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• 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 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.

Facts about San Rafael Airport (AFA):

• The closest airport to San Rafael Airport (AFA) is Comodoro D. Ricardo Salomón Airport (LGS), which is located 91 miles (147 kilometers) SW of AFA.
• In addition to being known as "San Rafael Airport", another name for AFA is "Aeropuerto San Rafael "Santiago Germano"".
• San Rafael Airport (AFA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from San Rafael Airport (AFA) is Luoyang Beijiao Airport (LYA), which is nearly antipodal to San Rafael Airport (meaning San Rafael Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Luoyang Beijiao Airport), and is located 12,391 miles (19,941 kilometers) away in Luoyang, Henan, China.