Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT), Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,770 miles (or 9,286 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 Fa'a'ā International 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 Fa'a'ā International 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 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• On 1 April 1951, the 363d TRW was transferred to Shaw from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing would remain at Shaw, under various designations, for the next 43 years.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 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 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.

Facts about Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT):

• The Mahina Lounge is a small airside lounge, after the security area.
• Because of limited level terrain, rather than leveling large stretches of sloping agricultural land, the airport is built primarily on reclaimed land on the coral reef just off-shore.
• Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Fa'a'ā International Airport", another name for PPT is "Aéroport International Tahiti Fa'a'ā".
• McDonald's is at terminal 2 and is close to the conveyor belts.
• The closest airport to Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) is Moorea Airport (MOZ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) WNW of PPT.
• Fa'a'ā International Airport is relatively small.
• The furthest airport from Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) is El Debba Airport (EDB), which is nearly antipodal to Fa'a'ā International Airport (meaning Fa'a'ā International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from El Debba Airport), and is located 12,387 miles (19,935 kilometers) away in El Debba (Al Dabbah), Sudan.
• Because of Fa'a'ā International Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Fa'a'ā International 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.