Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Talkeetna, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Talkeetna Airport (TKA), Talkeetna, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,525 miles (or 5,674 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 Talkeetna 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 Talkeetna 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• 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.
• 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 addition to the 363d TRW, Headquarters Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 1 September 1954.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.

Facts about Talkeetna Airport (TKA):

• The furthest airport from Talkeetna Airport (TKA) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,470 miles (16,850 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Talkeetna Airport (TKA) is Willow Airport (WOW), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) S of TKA.
• Talkeetna Airport (TKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is home to at least seven air taxi operations, and is very busy during tourist season because of its proximity to Mount McKinley.
• This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation airport.
• Talkeetna Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile east of the central business district of Talkeetna, in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough of the U.S.
• Because of Talkeetna Airport's relatively low elevation of 358 feet, planes can take off or land at Talkeetna 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.
• Air services operating from the airport include Sheldon Air Service, Talkeetna Aero Services, K2 Aviation, Talkeetna Air Taxi.