Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Lanzhou, Gansu, China:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SSC to ZGC:
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- About this route
- SSC Airport Information
- ZGC Airport Information
- Facts about SSC
- Facts about ZGC
- Map of Nearest Airports to SSC
- List of Nearest Airports to SSC
- Map of Furthest Airports from SSC
- List of Furthest Airports from SSC
- Map of Nearest Airports to ZGC
- List of Nearest Airports to ZGC
- Map of Furthest Airports from ZGC
- List of Furthest Airports from ZGC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC), Lanzhou, Gansu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,559 miles (or 12,166 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 Lanzhou Zhongchuan 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 Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SSC / KSSC |
Airport Name: | Shaw Air Force Base |
Location: | Sumter, South Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°58'23"N by 80°28'22"W |
View all routes: | Routes from SSC |
More Information: | SSC Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ZGC / ZLLL |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Lanzhou, Gansu, China |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°30'54"N by 103°37'12"E |
Operator/Owner: | HNA Airport Group Company Ltd Gansu Division |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 6388 feet (1,947 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from ZGC |
More Information: | ZGC Maps & Info |
Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):
- By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
- On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
- 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
- On 1 April 1951, the 363d TRW was transferred to Shaw from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing would remain at Shaw, under various designations, for the next 43 years.
Facts about Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC):
- In addition to being known as "Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport", other names for ZGC include "兰州中川机场" and "Lánzhōu Zhōngchuān Jīchǎng".
- The closest airport to Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC) is Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (LHW), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of ZGC.
- Because of Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport's high elevation of 6,388 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ZGC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ZGC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is nearly antipodal to Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (meaning Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Carriel Sur International Airport), and is located 12,252 miles (19,718 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
- Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC) currently has only 1 runway.
- Taxi service is relatively expensive due to the long distance to the airport, about 150RMB.