Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Zhengzhou, Henan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport (CGO), Zhengzhou, Henan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,615 miles (or 12,254 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 Zhengzhou Xinzheng International 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 Zhengzhou Xinzheng International 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):

• 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.
• 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 group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons Group, was a part of Strategic Air Command from July 1947 – May 1951, at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana as an Air Force Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel.
• The squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.

Facts about Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport (CGO):

• Because of Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport's relatively low elevation of 495 feet, planes can take off or land at Zhengzhou Xinzheng International 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 closest airport to Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport (CGO) is Luoyang Beijiao Airport (LYA), which is located 84 miles (135 kilometers) W of CGO.
• As for 2010, Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport was the 20th busiest airport in the People's Republic of China with 8,707,873 passengers.
• Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport (CGO) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport", other names for CGO include "郑州新郑国际机场" and "Zhèngzhōu Xīnzhèng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport (CGO) is Brigadier Mayor Cesar Raúl Ojeda Airport (LUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport (meaning Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Brigadier Mayor Cesar Raúl Ojeda Airport), and is located 12,350 miles (19,876 kilometers) away in San Luis, Argentina.
• Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport handled 10,150,075 passengers last year.