Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Luoyang, Henan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Luoyang Beijiao Airport (LYA), Luoyang, Henan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,617 miles (or 12,258 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 Luoyang Beijiao 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 Luoyang Beijiao 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 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.
• Shaw Air Force Base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• The 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• In October 1942, the flight training was changed to Advanced flying training and AT-6 Texan single-engine and Beech AT-10 twin-engine trainers were used.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• 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 Luoyang Beijiao Airport (LYA):

• Because of Luoyang Beijiao Airport's relatively low elevation of 840 feet, planes can take off or land at Luoyang Beijiao 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.
• The furthest airport from Luoyang Beijiao Airport (LYA) is San Rafael Airport (AFA), which is nearly antipodal to Luoyang Beijiao Airport (meaning Luoyang Beijiao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from San Rafael Airport), and is located 12,391 miles (19,941 kilometers) away in San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina.
• Luoyang Beijiao Airport (LYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Luoyang Beijiao Airport", other names for LYA include "洛阳北郊机场" and "Luòyáng Běijiāo Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Luoyang Beijiao Airport (LYA) is Yuncheng Guangong Airport (YCU), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) WNW of LYA.