Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Ipatinga / Santana do Paraiso, Minas Gerais, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Usiminas Airport (IPN), Ipatinga / Santana do Paraiso, Minas Gerais, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,459 miles (or 7,176 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 Usiminas 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 Usiminas 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):

• 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 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.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• In addition to the 363d TRW, Headquarters Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 1 September 1954.
• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.
• The 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.

Facts about Usiminas Airport (IPN):

• Usiminas Airport (IPN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Usiminas Airport", another name for IPN is "Aeroporto da Usiminas".
• Because of Usiminas Airport's relatively low elevation of 784 feet, planes can take off or land at Usiminas 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 furthest airport from Usiminas Airport (IPN) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is located 11,996 miles (19,306 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
• The closest airport to Usiminas Airport (IPN) is Coronel Altino Machado de Oliveira Airport (GVR), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) NE of IPN.