Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Natuna, Riau Islands, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Ranai Airport (NTX), Natuna, Riau Islands, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,756 miles (or 15,701 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 Ranai 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 Ranai 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 squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• 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.

Facts about Ranai Airport (NTX):

• In addition to being known as "Ranai Airport", another name for NTX is "Bandar Udara Ranai".
• Ranai Airport (NTX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ranai Airport (NTX) is Matak Airport (MWK), which is located 152 miles (244 kilometers) WSW of NTX.
• The furthest airport from Ranai Airport (NTX) is Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport (LET), which is nearly antipodal to Ranai Airport (meaning Ranai Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport), and is located 12,320 miles (19,827 kilometers) away in Leticia, Colombia.
• Because of Ranai Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Ranai 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.