Nonstop flight route between Turku, Finland and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Turku Airport (TKU), Turku, Finland and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,605 miles (or 7,410 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 Turku Airport and Shaw Air Force Base, 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 Turku Airport and Shaw Air Force Base. 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 Turku Airport (TKU):

• Turku Airport (TKU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Turku Airport (TKU) is Pori Airport (POR), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) NNW of TKU.
• Turku Airport handled 454,948 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Turku Airport", another name for TKU is "Turun lentoasemaÅbo flygplats".
• Turku Airport was Finland's first civilian airport when it was built in Artukainen in 1935, but already in the 1920s there was a water airport on Ruissalo Island.
• The furthest airport from Turku Airport (TKU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,047 miles (17,778 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In vicinity of Airport there are two highways E63 that goes from Turku to Tampere and Jyväskylä, and E18 which goes from Naantali via the Turku Ring Road and from Turku to Helsinki and Saint Petersburg, Russia.
• The bus number 1 departs from the airport in every 20 minutes.
• Because of Turku Airport's relatively low elevation of 161 feet, planes can take off or land at Turku 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.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (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.
• 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.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.