Nonstop flight route between Vadsø, Finnmark, Norway and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Vadsø Airport (VDS):

• Widerøe operated Twin Otters on the route until 1995, when the Dash 8 was introduced.
• Vadsø Airport handled 81,772 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Vadsø Airport (VDS) is Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) S of VDS.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Vadsø Airport", another name for VDS is "Vadsø lufthavn".

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• 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.
• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.