Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Padua, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Padua “Gino Allegri” Airport (QPA), Padua, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,700 miles (or 7,564 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 Padua “Gino Allegri” 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 Padua “Gino Allegri” 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• The group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons Group, was a part of Strategic Air Command from July 1947 – May 1951, at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana as an Air Force Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel.
• 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.
• 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.
• The 20th FG was reassigned to Langley AFB, Virginia on 1 December 1951 in preparation for a permanent overseas deployment to RAF Wethersfield, England to support NATO.
• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is one of only two air bases in CONUS with an active railroad line.

Facts about Padua “Gino Allegri” Airport (QPA):

• Padua “Gino Allegri” Airport (QPA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Padua “Gino Allegri” Airport (QPA) is Vicenza “Tommaso Dal Molin” Airport (VIC), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) NW of QPA.
• In addition to being known as "Padua “Gino Allegri” Airport", another name for QPA is "Aeroporto di Padova “Gino Allegri”".
• The furthest airport from Padua “Gino Allegri” Airport (QPA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Padua “Gino Allegri” Airport (meaning Padua “Gino Allegri” Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,014 miles (19,335 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Padua “Gino Allegri” Airport's relatively low elevation of 44 feet, planes can take off or land at Padua “Gino Allegri” 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.