Nonstop flight route between Vadsø, Finnmark, Norway and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VDS to SSC:
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- About this route
- VDS Airport Information
- SSC Airport Information
- Facts about VDS
- Facts about SSC
- Map of Nearest Airports to VDS
- List of Nearest Airports to VDS
- Map of Furthest Airports from VDS
- List of Furthest Airports from VDS
- Map of Nearest Airports to SSC
- List of Nearest Airports to SSC
- Map of Furthest Airports from SSC
- List of Furthest Airports from SSC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Vadsø Airport (VDS), Vadsø, Finnmark, Norway and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,471 miles (or 7,196 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 Vadsø 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 Vadsø 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VDS / ENVD |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Vadsø, Finnmark, Norway |
GPS Coordinates: | 70°3'55"N by 29°50'40"E |
Area Served: | Vadsø |
Operator/Owner: | Avinor |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 127 feet (39 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from VDS |
More Information: | VDS Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Vadsø Airport (VDS):
- Varangfly proposed Vadsø as a possible site of a small airfield in 1964, suitable for landing air taxis and air ambulances.
- The closest airport to Vadsø Airport (VDS) is Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) S of VDS.
- On 4 January 1984 a Cessna aircraft crashed into the sea after take-off from the airport.
- Vadsø was during the late 1930s and from the mid-1940s served with a seaplane route operated by Widerøe and Norwegian Air Lines.
- Because of Vadsø Airport's relatively low elevation of 127 feet, planes can take off or land at Vadsø 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.
- In addition to being known as "Vadsø Airport", another name for VDS is "Vadsø lufthavn".
- Vadsø Airport handled 81,772 passengers last year.
- The furthest airport from Vadsø Airport (VDS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,407 miles (16,748 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Vadsø is served by Widerøe, which operates 39-seat Dash 8-100 aircraft to other communities in Finnmark.
- The distance from Vardø Airport to Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen is 38 kilometers.
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.
- On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
- Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
- 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 group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons Group, was a part of Strategic Air Command from July 1947 – May 1951, at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana as an Air Force Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel.
- With the closure of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base South Carolina and the inactivation of the 354th Fighter Wing, the 21st Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated at Shaw and received 30 Republic A/OA-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the inactivating 355th Fighter Squadron on 1 April 1992.
- In October 1942, the flight training was changed to Advanced flying training and AT-6 Texan single-engine and Beech AT-10 twin-engine trainers were used.
- The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
- Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
- 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.