Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Bethel, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SSC to JBT:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- SSC Airport Information
- JBT Airport Information
- Facts about SSC
- Facts about JBT
- Map of Nearest Airports to SSC
- List of Nearest Airports to SSC
- Map of Furthest Airports from SSC
- List of Furthest Airports from SSC
- Map of Nearest Airports to JBT
- List of Nearest Airports to JBT
- Map of Furthest Airports from JBT
- List of Furthest Airports from JBT
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT), Bethel, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,917 miles (or 6,304 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 Bethel Seaplane Base, 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 Bethel Seaplane Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SSC / KSSC |
Airport Name: | Shaw Air Force Base |
Location: | Sumter, South Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°58'23"N by 80°28'22"W |
View all routes: | Routes from SSC |
More Information: | SSC Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | JBT / |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Bethel, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 60°46'54"N by 161°44'35"W |
Area Served: | Bethel, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | Public Domain |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 15 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from JBT |
More Information: | JBT Maps & Info |
Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):
- 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 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.
- 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 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
- 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
- Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
Facts about Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT):
- Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Bethel Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Bethel Seaplane Base 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 Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT) is Bethel Airport (BET), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) W of JBT.
- The furthest airport from Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,584 miles (17,034 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- In addition to being known as "Bethel Seaplane Base", another name for JBT is "Z59".