Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Merauke, Papua, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Mopah Airport (MKQ), Merauke, Papua, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,303 miles (or 14,972 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 Mopah 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 Mopah 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):

• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
• 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.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• 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 363d TFW received its first F-16 on 26 March 1982.
• On 1 April 1951, the 363d TRW was transferred to Shaw from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing would remain at Shaw, under various designations, for the next 43 years.
• 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.
• Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.

Facts about Mopah Airport (MKQ):

• Because of Mopah Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Mopah 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.
• Mopah Airport (MKQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Mopah Airport (MKQ) is Parnaíba–Prefeito Dr. João Silva Filho International Airport (PHB), which is located 11,634 miles (18,724 kilometers) away in Parnaiba, Piaui, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Mopah Airport", another name for MKQ is "Bandara Mopah".
• The closest airport to Mopah Airport (MKQ) is Bensbach Airport (BSP), which is located 62 miles (99 kilometers) ESE of MKQ.