Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Falkland Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN), Falkland Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,076 miles (or 9,779 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 RAF Mount Pleasant, 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 RAF Mount Pleasant. 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):

• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• 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 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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.
• 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.
• Following Desert Storm, the 19th and 33d Tactical Fighter Squadrons deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, a coalition effort to enforce the Iraqi "No Fly Zone" south of the 32nd parallel north.

Facts about RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN):

• After the surrender of the Argentine ground forces on the islands, the British still faced the problem of potential Argentine air attacks from Argentina, so an aircraft carrier had to remain on station to guard the islands with its squadron of Sea Harriers until the local airfield was prepared for jet aircraft.
• RAF Mount Pleasant is the newest permanent airfield in the Royal Air Force.
• There is also a Joint Communications Unit providing the electronic warfare and command and control systems for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.
• The furthest airport from RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Mohe Gulian Airport (OHE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Mount Pleasant (meaning RAF Mount Pleasant is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mohe Gulian Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Mohe, Heilongjiang, China.
• On 2 March 2012, the Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner called for Aerolineas Argentinas flights to Buenos Aires to replace LAN Airlines flights to Chile.
• The closest airport to RAF Mount Pleasant (MPN) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) ENE of MPN.
• Currently located at Mount Pleasant are No.