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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX), Wuxi/Suzhou, Jiangsu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,713 miles (or 12,413 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 Sunan Shuofang 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 Sunan Shuofang 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):

• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• 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.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.

Facts about Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX):

• In addition to being known as "Sunan Shuofang International Airport", other names for WUX include "苏南硕放国际机场" and "Sūnán Shuòfàng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX) is Suzhou Guangfu Airport (SZV), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) S of WUX.
• The furthest airport from Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX) is General Justo José de Urquiza Airport (PRA), which is nearly antipodal to Sunan Shuofang International Airport (meaning Sunan Shuofang International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from General Justo José de Urquiza Airport), and is located 12,379 miles (19,923 kilometers) away in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina.
• Because of Sunan Shuofang International Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Sunan Shuofang 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.
• Sunan Shuofang International Airport (WUX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Sunan Shuofang International Airport handled 2,535,227 passengers last year.