Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Tampere / Pirkkala, Finland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP), Tampere / Pirkkala, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,614 miles (or 7,425 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 Tampere–Pirkkala 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 Tampere–Pirkkala 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 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.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.
• 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 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.

Facts about Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP):

• Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP) currently has only 1 runway.
• Tampere–Pirkkala Airport handled 466,671 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP) is Halli Airport (KEV), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) NE of TMP.
• Because of Tampere–Pirkkala Airport's relatively low elevation of 390 feet, planes can take off or land at Tampere–Pirkkala 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.
• There is a connection to Helsinki with one change of bus at Tampere coach station using the city bus service.
• The airport is also home to the Satakunta Air Command base of the Finnish Air Force, with F-18 Hornets stationed there.
• In addition to being known as "Tampere–Pirkkala Airport", another name for TMP is "Tampere-Pirkkalan lentoasema".
• Karhumäki Airways began to fly to Stockholm in the 1950s.
• Tampere–Pirkkala Airport is located in Pirkkala, 7 NM south-west of Tampere city centre.
• The furthest airport from Tampere–Pirkkala Airport (TMP) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,971 miles (17,656 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.