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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN), Tianjin, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,259 miles (or 11,682 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 Tianjin Binhai International 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 Tianjin Binhai International 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):

• 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 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• 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.
• 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 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• 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.
• 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 Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN):

• The terminal has Tianjin Airlines headquarters.
• Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Tianjin Binhai International Airport", other names for TSN include "天津滨海国际机场" and "Tiānjīn Bīnhăi Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN) is Comandante Espora Airport (BHI), which is nearly antipodal to Tianjin Binhai International Airport (meaning Tianjin Binhai International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Comandante Espora Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
• Tianjin Binhai International Airport handled 8,139,988 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN) is Tangshan Sannühe Airport (TVS), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) NE of TSN.
• The airport is also the site of the Airbus A320 final assembly line which started operations in 2008.
• Because of Tianjin Binhai International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Tianjin Binhai International 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.
• Construction of a new terminal began in 2005 and was fully operating by 2008.