Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Beni, Nord-Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Beni Airport (BNC), Beni, Nord-Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,331 miles (or 11,798 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 Beni 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 Beni 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 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• 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 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.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.
• 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.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• 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 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.

Facts about Beni Airport (BNC):

• Beni Airport (BNC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Beni Airport (BNC) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,933 miles (19,205 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Beni Airport (BNC) is Kasese Airport (KSE), which is located 51 miles (82 kilometers) ESE of BNC.