Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Sardeh Band, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Sardeh Band Airport (SBF), Sardeh Band, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,374 miles (or 11,867 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 Sardeh Band 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 Sardeh Band 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 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.
• Following Desert Storm, the 19th and 33d Tactical Fighter Squadrons deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, a coalition effort to enforce the Iraqi "No Fly Zone" south of the 32nd parallel north.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.

Facts about Sardeh Band Airport (SBF):

• In addition to being known as "Sardeh Band Airport", other names for SBF include "Sardeh Band Airport (Sardeh Band)" and "Band E Sardeh Dam Airport".
• The furthest airport from Sardeh Band Airport (SBF) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,996 miles (19,306 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The closest airport to Sardeh Band Airport (SBF) is Ghazni Airport (GZI), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of SBF.
• On 12 June 2002 a Lockheed MC-130H Hercules was participating in a night exfiltration mission to remove U.S.
• Sardeh Band Airport (SBF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Sardeh Band Airport's high elevation of 6,971 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SBF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SBF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.