Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Impfondo, Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Impfondo Airport (ION), Impfondo, Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,644 miles (or 10,692 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 Impfondo 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 Impfondo 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 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 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.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• 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 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.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.

Facts about Impfondo Airport (ION):

• The closest airport to Impfondo Airport (ION) is Bétou Airport (BTB), which is located 106 miles (170 kilometers) NNE of ION.
• The furthest airport from Impfondo Airport (ION) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Impfondo Airport (meaning Impfondo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,034 miles (19,367 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.