Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Perth, Western Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Perth Airport (PER), Perth, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,474 miles (or 18,466 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 Perth 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 Perth 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 20th Fighter Group was first equipped with North American P-51D, then exchanged its P-51's in February 1948 for F-84B Thunderjets, the first TAC group to receive operational F-84s.
• 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 Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• 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.
• With the closure of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base South Carolina and the inactivation of the 354th Fighter Wing, the 21st Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated at Shaw and received 30 Republic A/OA-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the inactivating 355th Fighter Squadron on 1 April 1992.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• 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.

Facts about Perth Airport (PER):

• The closest airport to Perth Airport (PER) is Jandakot Airport (JAD), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSW of PER.
• The move was agreed to by the government of the day, as the larger types of aircraft of the day being operated by the two airlines could simply not be handled at Maylands, notwithstanding the small grass airfield, lack of passenger facilities, and approaches being difficult due to surrounding industrial infrastructure.
• It was at this time the airport began to experience the full effects of the jet age.
• Prior to the opening of the Perth Airport, civilian air services for the city were provided from Maylands Airport located in Maylands, as well as on the city's foreshore at Langley Park.
• The two domestic terminals are side by side and about 12 km from the Perth CBD, while the international terminal is 17 km from Perth.
• At this time also, airline operators Qantas and Ansett set about on ambitious capital works programs to construct new domestic terminals for their respective airlines on the northern side of the terminal, where they still stand to this day.
• In 2012, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released a report rating the Perth Airport as the worst in Australia, as judged by airlines.
• Because of Perth Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Perth 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.
• Perth Airport handled 13,664,394 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Perth Airport (PER) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Perth Airport (meaning Perth Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,938 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.
• Perth Airport (PER) has 2 runways.
• The airport only received international status and was renamed to Perth International Airport in 1952.