Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Lawas, Sarawak, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Lawas Airport (LWY), Lawas, Sarawak, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,561 miles (or 15,387 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 Lawas 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 Lawas 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):

• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
• 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• 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.

Facts about Lawas Airport (LWY):

• Because of Lawas Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Lawas 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.
• In addition to being known as "Lawas Airport", other names for LWY include "Lapangan Terbang Lawas" and "老越机场".
• The closest airport to Lawas Airport (LWY) is Long Sukang Airport (LSU), which is located 21 miles (35 kilometers) SSE of LWY.
• Lawas Airport (LWY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lawas Airport (LWY) is Tefé Airport (TFF), which is nearly antipodal to Lawas Airport (meaning Lawas Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tefé Airport), and is located 12,335 miles (19,851 kilometers) away in Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil.