Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Kirovsk / Apatity, Murmansk Oblast, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Kirovsk-Apatity Airport Аэропорт Кировск/Апатиты (KVK), Kirovsk / Apatity, Murmansk Oblast, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,647 miles (or 7,479 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 Kirovsk-Apatity Airport Аэропорт Кировск/Апатиты, 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 Kirovsk-Apatity Airport Аэропорт Кировск/Апатиты. 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• The 363rd Fighter Wing was inactivated at Shaw AFB on 31 December 1993, and the next day, 1 January 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, returning to the base it had left for duty with NATO forty-one years earlier.

Facts about Kirovsk-Apatity Airport Аэропорт Кировск/Апатиты (KVK):

• Kirovsk-Apatity Airport Аэропорт Кировск/Апатиты (KVK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kirovsk-Apatity Airport Аэропорт Кировск/Апатиты (KVK) is Murmansk Airport (MMK), which is located 94 miles (151 kilometers) NNW of KVK.
• The furthest airport from Kirovsk-Apatity Airport Аэропорт Кировск/Апатиты (KVK) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,468 miles (16,846 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Kirovsk-Apatity Airport Аэропорт Кировск/Апатиты's relatively low elevation of 515 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirovsk-Apatity Airport Аэропорт Кировск/Апатиты 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.