Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Eastleigh (near Southampton), England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Southampton Airport (SOU), Eastleigh (near Southampton), England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,995 miles (or 6,429 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 Southampton 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 Southampton 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):

• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• 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 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 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.

Facts about Southampton Airport (SOU):

• The closest airport to Southampton Airport (SOU) is Lasham Airfield (QLA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) NE of SOU.
• Southampton airport only has one main ground handler which is Swissport, who took over from Aviance.
• Because of Southampton Airport's relatively low elevation of 44 feet, planes can take off or land at Southampton 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.
• Southampton Airport handled 1,722,758 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Southampton Airport (SOU) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,918 miles (19,179 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• In 1936 Supermarine opened a test flight facility on the site, followed shortly thereafter by the opening of the Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft factory on the southern end of the runway.
• Southampton Airport is served by a dedicated mainline railway station, Southampton Airport Parkway.
• On 5 March 2006 five restored Spitfires took off from Southampton Airport to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the first test flight of the Spitfire.
• After that war, the site became a transit camp for refugees, mainly Russian, who were anxious to sail to America from the port of Southampton.
• The airport is also located close to the junction between the M3 motorway and M27 motorway, giving easy road access to Southampton, Winchester, Bournemouth, Poole, Portsmouth and places between.
• Southampton Airport (SOU) currently has only 1 runway.