Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Chimbu Airport (CMU), Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,954 miles (or 14,410 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 Chimbu 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 Chimbu 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 March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• With the closure of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base South Carolina and the inactivation of the 354th Fighter Wing, the 21st Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated at Shaw and received 30 Republic A/OA-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the inactivating 355th Fighter Squadron on 1 April 1992.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• 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.

Facts about Chimbu Airport (CMU):

• The closest airport to Chimbu Airport (CMU) is Goroka Airport (GKA), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) E of CMU.
• Chimbu Airport (CMU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Chimbu Airport (CMU) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,731 miles (18,879 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• Because of Chimbu Airport's high elevation of 4,974 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CMU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CMU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.