Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and New Plymouth, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and New Plymouth Airport (NPL), New Plymouth, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,394 miles (or 13,509 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 New Plymouth 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 New Plymouth 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 Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• The 363d TFW received its first F-16 on 26 March 1982.

Facts about New Plymouth Airport (NPL):

• New Plymouth District Council has confirmed that they are designing a new terminal extension for construction in 2015.
• The airport's only sealed taxiway connects the apron and the asphalt runway, so aircraft taxi on the runway, and commence take off roll from runway ends.
• New Plymouth Airport (NPL) has 3 runways.
• Origin Pacific Airways used to operate Jetstream J31 and Metroliner aircraft to/from Auckland and to/from Nelson 6x weekly.
• The closest airport to New Plymouth Airport (NPL) is Wanganui Airport (WAG), which is located 80 miles (129 kilometers) SE of NPL.
• The furthest airport from New Plymouth Airport (NPL) is Badajoz Airport (BJZ), which is nearly antipodal to New Plymouth Airport (meaning New Plymouth Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Badajoz Airport), and is located 12,382 miles (19,928 kilometers) away in Badajoz, Spain.
• The airport is the 10th busiest airport in New Zealand with 32,791 aircraft movements in 2011.
• New Plymouth Airport handled 332,178 passengers last year.
• By the end of 2012 the larger ATR 72 aircraft will provide a service to Auckland due to the demands of passenger numbers.
• Because of New Plymouth Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at New Plymouth 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.