Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Norfolk Island, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), Norfolk Island, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,467 miles (or 13,627 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 Norfolk Island 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 Norfolk Island 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 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• The 363rd Fighter Wing was inactivated at Shaw AFB on 31 December 1993, and the next day, 1 January 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, returning to the base it had left for duty with NATO forty-one years earlier.
• 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.
• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Norfolk Island Airport (NLK):

• The closest airport to Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) is Nouméa Magenta Airport (GEA), which is located 478 miles (769 kilometers) NNW of NLK.
• In addition to being known as "Norfolk Island Airport", another name for NLK is "YSNF".
• Norfolk Island Airport handled 57,758 passengers last year.
• From New Caledonia other Pacific Islands such as Vanuatu and Fiji are within range and can be used as further 'stepping stones' to the other South Pacific and North Pacific destinations.
• The furthest airport from Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) is Tan Tan Airport (TTA), which is nearly antipodal to Norfolk Island Airport (meaning Norfolk Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tan Tan Airport), and is located 12,369 miles (19,905 kilometers) away in Tan-Tan, Morocco.
• Norfolk Island Airport is the only airport on Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia.
• Norfolk Island Airport (NLK) has 2 runways.
• Because of Norfolk Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 371 feet, planes can take off or land at Norfolk Island 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.