Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Buckland, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Buckland Airport (BKC), Buckland, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,841 miles (or 6,181 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 Buckland 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 Buckland 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):

• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• 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 363d TFW received its first F-16 on 26 March 1982.
• 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.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.

Facts about Buckland Airport (BKC):

• Because of Buckland Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Buckland 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.
• Buckland Airport (BKC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Buckland Airport (BKC) is Granite Mountain Air Station (GMT), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) S of BKC.
• In addition to being known as "Buckland Airport", another name for BKC is "BVK".
• The furthest airport from Buckland Airport (BKC) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,225 miles (16,455 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.