Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Mönchengladbach, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL), Mönchengladbach, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,312 miles (or 6,940 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 Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach 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 Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach 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):

• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
• 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.
• 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.
• The squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.

Facts about Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL):

• From 1996 until 2002 the Belgian airline VLM operated direct services to London City Airport with Fokker 50 aeroplanes providing up to 24 weekly flights in each direction.
• Because of Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach 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.
• Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport is a small regional airport located 4.4 km northeast of Mönchengladbach and 15.2 km west of Düsseldorf.
• The closest airport to Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) is Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ENE of MGL.
• Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,906 miles (19,161 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport", another name for MGL is "Verkehrslandeplatz Mönchengladbach".