Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Masuda, Shimane, Japan, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Iwami Airport (IWJ), Masuda, Shimane, Japan, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,255 miles (or 11,675 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 Iwami 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 Iwami 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 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.
• 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.
• Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
• 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 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.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.

Facts about Iwami Airport (IWJ):

• Iwami Airport (IWJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Iwami Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Iwami 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 Iwami Airport (IWJ) is Yamaguchi Ube Airport (UBJ), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) SSW of IWJ.
• In addition to being known as "Iwami Airport", other names for IWJ include "石見空港" and "Iwami Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Iwami Airport (IWJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Iwami Airport (meaning Iwami Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,147 miles (19,548 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.