Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Rovaniemi, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Rovaniemi Airport (RVN), Rovaniemi, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,502 miles (or 7,245 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 Rovaniemi 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 Rovaniemi 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.

Facts about Rovaniemi Airport (RVN):

• In addition to being known as "Rovaniemi Airport", another name for RVN is "Rovaniemen lentoasema".
• The closest airport to Rovaniemi Airport (RVN) is Kemi-Tornio Airport (KEM), which is located 64 miles (103 kilometers) SSW of RVN.
• Rovaniemi Airport (RVN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Rovaniemi Airport handled 309,821 passengers last year.
• Rovaniemi Airport is the fifth largest airport in Finland.
• Because of Rovaniemi Airport's relatively low elevation of 642 feet, planes can take off or land at Rovaniemi 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 Rovaniemi Airport (RVN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,658 miles (17,152 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport was built in 1940 with two grass-surfaced runways.