Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Wevelgem, Belgium:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport (KJK), Wevelgem, Belgium would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,187 miles (or 6,739 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 Kortrijk-Wevelgem International 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 Kortrijk-Wevelgem International 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.
• On 9 August 1990, the 17th and 33d TFS of 363d TFW became the first F-16 squadrons to deploy to the United Arab Emirates in Operation Desert Shield.
• 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.
• 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.
• The squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.

Facts about Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport (KJK):

• In addition to being known as "Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport", another name for KJK is "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) B-55".
• The closest airport to Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport (KJK) is Lille Airport (LIL), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) SSW of KJK.
• Because of Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport's relatively low elevation of 64 feet, planes can take off or land at Kortrijk-Wevelgem International 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.
• Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport (KJK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport (KJK) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,952 miles (19,235 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.