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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Frieda River Airport (FAQ), Frieda River, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,046 miles (or 14,558 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 Frieda River 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 Frieda River 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):

• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• 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 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• 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 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 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.

Facts about Frieda River Airport (FAQ):

• In addition to being known as "Frieda River Airport", another name for FAQ is "Frieda River".
• The furthest airport from Frieda River Airport (FAQ) is Parnaíba–Prefeito Dr. João Silva Filho International Airport (PHB), which is located 11,859 miles (19,086 kilometers) away in Parnaiba, Piaui, Brazil.
• Frieda River Airport (FAQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Frieda River Airport's relatively low elevation of 200 feet, planes can take off or land at Frieda River 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 Frieda River Airport (FAQ) is Biangabip Airport (BPK), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) SSW of FAQ.