Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Karratha Airport (KTA), Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,041 miles (or 17,768 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 Karratha 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 Karratha 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 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• As a result of the end of the Cold War, the Air Force made several dramatic changes with the inactivation and re-designation of wings and their units.
• 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.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.
• 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 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• The group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons Group, was a part of Strategic Air Command from July 1947 – May 1951, at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana as an Air Force Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel.

Facts about Karratha Airport (KTA):

• Karratha Airport handled 675,207 passengers last year.
• Because of Karratha Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Karratha 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.
• Karratha Airport (KTA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Karratha Airport (KTA) is Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport (AXA), which is nearly antipodal to Karratha Airport (meaning Karratha Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport), and is located 12,263 miles (19,736 kilometers) away in The Valley, Anguilla.
• The closest airport to Karratha Airport (KTA) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is located 89 miles (143 kilometers) W of KTA.