Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Heihe, Heilongjiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Heihe Airport (HEK), Heihe, Heilongjiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,380 miles (or 10,267 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 Heihe 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 Heihe 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 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.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• Following Desert Storm, the 19th and 33d Tactical Fighter Squadrons deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, a coalition effort to enforce the Iraqi "No Fly Zone" south of the 32nd parallel north.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of 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.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• 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.

Facts about Heihe Airport (HEK):

• In addition to being known as "Heihe Airport", other names for HEK include "黑河机场" and "Hēihé Jīchǎng".
• Heihe Airport (HEK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Heihe Airport (HEK) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is nearly antipodal to Heihe Airport (meaning Heihe Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Port Stanley Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,621 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• The closest airport to Heihe Airport (HEK) is Ignatyevo Airport (BQS), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NNE of HEK.