Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Kashgar, Xinjiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Kashgar Airport (KHG), Kashgar, Xinjiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,140 miles (or 11,490 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 Kashgar 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 Kashgar 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Kashgar Airport (KHG):

• In addition to being known as "Kashgar Airport", other names for KHG include "喀什机场" and "Kāshí Jīchǎng".
• Because of Kashgar Airport's high elevation of 4,529 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KHG. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KHG a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Kashgar Airport (KHG) is Osh International Airport (OSS), which is located 186 miles (299 kilometers) WNW of KHG.
• Kashgar Airport (KHG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kashgar Airport (KHG) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,526 miles (18,550 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.