Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Bunia, Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Bunia Airport (BUX), Bunia, Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,332 miles (or 11,800 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 Bunia 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 Bunia 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):

• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• 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.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• 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.

Facts about Bunia Airport (BUX):

• Bunia Airport (BUX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Bunia Airport (BUX) is Beni Airport (BNC), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) SW of BUX.
• The furthest airport from Bunia Airport (BUX) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,859 miles (19,085 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• Because of Bunia Airport's high elevation of 4,045 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BUX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BUX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.