Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Burnie, Tasmania, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Burnie Airport (BWT), Burnie, Tasmania, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,888 miles (or 15,913 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 Burnie 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 Burnie 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):

• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is one of only two air bases in CONUS with an active railroad line.
• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
• In addition to the 363d TRW, Headquarters Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 1 September 1954.
• 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.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• 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 Burnie Airport (BWT):

• Because of Burnie Airport's relatively low elevation of 62 feet, planes can take off or land at Burnie 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.
• The furthest airport from Burnie Airport (BWT) is Corvo Airport (CVU), which is nearly antipodal to Burnie Airport (meaning Burnie Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Corvo Airport), and is located 12,247 miles (19,709 kilometers) away in Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Burnie Airport handled 70,402 passengers last year.
• Burnie Airport (BWT) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Burnie Airport (BWT) is Smithton Airport (SIO), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) WNW of BWT.
• The airport is centrally located on Tasmania's North West Coast.
• In addition to being known as "Burnie Airport", another name for BWT is "Wynyard Airport".
• The railway line has not been in operation since 2003.
• Burnie Airport was ranked 49th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010-2011.