Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Suzhou, Jiangsu, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Suzhou Guangfu Airport (SZV), Suzhou, Jiangsu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,729 miles (or 12,438 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 Suzhou Guangfu 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 Suzhou Guangfu 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):

• 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.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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 Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• 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.
• 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.
• As a result of the end of the Cold War, the Air Force made several dramatic changes with the inactivation and re-designation of wings and their units.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.

Facts about Suzhou Guangfu Airport (SZV):

• The closest airport to Suzhou Guangfu Airport (SZV) is Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) N of SZV.
• The furthest airport from Suzhou Guangfu Airport (SZV) is General Justo José de Urquiza Airport (PRA), which is nearly antipodal to Suzhou Guangfu Airport (meaning Suzhou Guangfu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from General Justo José de Urquiza Airport), and is located 12,373 miles (19,913 kilometers) away in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Suzhou Guangfu Airport", other names for SZV include "苏州光福机场", "Sūzhōu Guāngfú Jīchǎng" and "ZSSV".