Nonstop flight route between Tresco, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tresco Heliport (TSO), Tresco, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,800 miles (or 6,116 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 Tresco Heliport 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 Tresco Heliport 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 Tresco Heliport (TSO):

• Tresco's principal industry is tourism, and the heliport supported this by enabling scheduled helicopter service to and from the mainland.
• On summer weekdays the heliport received up to six flights a day from Penzance Heliport on the mainland, declining to two services a day in winter.
• Because of Tresco Heliport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Tresco Heliport 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.
• The furthest airport from Tresco Heliport (TSO) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Tresco Heliport (meaning Tresco Heliport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,116 miles (19,499 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Tresco Heliport (TSO) is St Mary's Airport (ISC), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SE of TSO.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• Shaw Army Airfield was designated a permanent Army Air Forces instantiation after the war, being transferred to Continental Air Forces on 16 April 1945.
• 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.
• 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.
• The 66th TRW was formed at Shaw from the RB-26 assets of the 18th TRS and RF-80s transferred from South Korea.
• The squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.
• 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.
• 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.
• The 363rd Fighter Wing was inactivated at Shaw AFB on 31 December 1993, and the next day, 1 January 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, returning to the base it had left for duty with NATO forty-one years earlier.