Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma):

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Mandalay International Airport (MDL), Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma) would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,583 miles (or 13,813 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 Mandalay 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 Mandalay 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):

• 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 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.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
• In addition to the 363d TRW, Headquarters Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 1 September 1954.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.

Facts about Mandalay International Airport (MDL):

• In addition to being known as "Mandalay International Airport", another name for MDL is "မန္တလေး အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ လေဆိပ်".
• Due to the reforms in Myanmar, the airport has begun to see increase in traffic especially daily flights to Bangkok and to China.
• The Mandalay International Airport project was first conceived by the Burmese military government in the mid 1990s as a way to increase overall levels of foreign investment and tourism in Burma.
• Mandalay International Airport handled 500,000 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Mandalay International Airport (MDL) is Capitán FAP Renán Elías Olivera International Airport (PIO), which is located 11,685 miles (18,805 kilometers) away in Pisco, Peru.
• Opened on 17 September 2000, the terminal building can handle 1000 passenger arrivals and 1000 passenger departures per hour.
• Mandalay International Airport (MDL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mandalay International Airport (MDL) is Nyaung U International Airport (NYU), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) WSW of MDL.
• Because of Mandalay International Airport's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Mandalay 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.
• Mandalay International Airport ), located 35 km south of Mandalay in Tada-U, is one of only three international airports in Burma.