Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Portimão, Algarve, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Portimão Airport (PRM), Portimão, Algarve, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,947 miles (or 6,351 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 Portimão 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 Portimão 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 Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• Upon activation at Shaw, the 20th FW assumed the personnel and equipment of the inactivated 363d Fighter Wing.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• 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 Portimão Airport (PRM):

• Portimão Airport (PRM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Portimão Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Portimão 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.
• The furthest airport from Portimão Airport (PRM) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is nearly antipodal to Portimão Airport (meaning Portimão Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dargaville Aerodrome), and is located 12,276 miles (19,756 kilometers) away in Dargaville, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Portimão Airport", another name for PRM is "Aeródromo Municipal de Portimão".
• The closest airport to Portimão Airport (PRM) is Faro International Airport (FAO), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) ESE of PRM.