Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Den Helder, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and De Kooy Airfield (DHR), Den Helder, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,204 miles (or 6,765 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 De Kooy Airfield, 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 De Kooy Airfield. 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):

• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• 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.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.

Facts about De Kooy Airfield (DHR):

• There are currently no scheduled services to and from Den Helder.
• In addition to being known as "De Kooy Airfield", other names for DHR include "Vliegveld De Kooy", "Den Helder Airport" and "Maritiem Vliegkamp De Kooy".
• The closest airport to De Kooy Airfield (DHR) is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), which is located 43 miles (68 kilometers) S of DHR.
• De Kooy Airfield (DHR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from De Kooy Airfield (DHR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,805 miles (18,998 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of De Kooy Airfield's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at De Kooy Airfield 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.