Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Matsuyama Airport (MYJ), Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,282 miles (or 11,720 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 Matsuyama 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 Matsuyama 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• 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 20th FG was reassigned to Langley AFB, Virginia on 1 December 1951 in preparation for a permanent overseas deployment to RAF Wethersfield, England to support NATO.

Facts about Matsuyama Airport (MYJ):

• In addition to being known as "Matsuyama Airport", other names for MYJ include "松山空港" and "Matsuyama kūkō".
• The closest airport to Matsuyama Airport (MYJ) is Hiroshima Airport (HIJ), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) NNE of MYJ.
• Link Airs, a Fukuoka-based regional airline startup, plans to begin service to the airport in 2014.
• The furthest airport from Matsuyama Airport (MYJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Matsuyama Airport (meaning Matsuyama Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,130 miles (19,522 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Matsuyama Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Matsuyama 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 airport opened as an Imperial Japanese Navy airfield in 1941, and became a state-administered civil airport in 1958.
• Matsuyama Airport (MYJ) currently has only 1 runway.