Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Tainan City, Taiwan, Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Tainan Airport (TNN), Tainan City, Taiwan, Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,276 miles (or 13,318 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 Tainan 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 Tainan 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):

• 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.
• The 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• 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 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.

Facts about Tainan Airport (TNN):

• On 24 February 1969, Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104, a Handley Page Dart Herald with 36 passengers and crew board, crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Tainan.
• The furthest airport from Tainan Airport (TNN) is Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport (ESG), which is nearly antipodal to Tainan Airport (meaning Tainan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport), and is located 12,355 miles (19,883 kilometers) away in Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay.
• Because of the shared use with the Air Force, the airport terminal was built quite a distance away from the airfield.
• A number of US units have been stationed at Tainan Air Base, including the 868th Tactical Missile Squadron from 1958 to 1962, which operated MGM-1 Matadors, probably under the ultimate control of the United States Taiwan Defense Command.
• Tainan Airport (TNN) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Tainan Airport (TNN) is Kaohsiung International Airport (Kaohsiung Siaogang Airport) (KHH), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSE of TNN.
• In addition to being known as "Tainan Airport", other names for TNN include "臺南航空站台南機場" and "Táinán HángkōngzhànTáinán Jīchǎng".
• Because of Tainan Airport's relatively low elevation of 63 feet, planes can take off or land at Tainan 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.