Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Gander, Newfoundland, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Gander International Airport (YQX), Gander, Newfoundland, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,679 miles (or 2,703 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 relatively short distance between Shaw Air Force Base and Gander International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• 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.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• 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 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 Gander International Airport (YQX):

• Because of Gander International Airport's relatively low elevation of 496 feet, planes can take off or land at Gander 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.
• Runway 04/22 was extended from 8,400 to 10,500 ft in 1971.
• Gander International Airport (YQX) has 2 runways.
• The airport's runway 03/21 was also designated as an emergency landing runway for the Space Shuttle.
• On December 12, 1985 Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashed on take-off from, the then runway 22.
• The airport was the site for Canada's memorial service to mark the first anniversary of the attack, over which Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Transport Minister David Collenette, US Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci, and provincial and local officials presided.
• The closest airport to Gander International Airport (YQX) is St. John's International Airport (YYT), which is located 124 miles (199 kilometers) SE of YQX.
• The furthest airport from Gander International Airport (YQX) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,395 miles (18,338 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1940, the operation of the Newfoundland Airport was assigned by the Dominion of Newfoundland to the Royal Canadian Air Force and it was renamed RCAF Station Gander in 1941.
• During the Cold War Gander was notable for the number of persons from the former Warsaw Pact nations who defected there.