Nonstop flight route between Wuhan, Hubei, China and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH), Wuhan, Hubei, China and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,861 miles (or 12,652 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 Wuhan Tianhe International 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 Wuhan Tianhe International 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 Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH):

• Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport served 11,646,789 passengers in 2010, making it the 14th busiest airport by passenger traffic in China.
• Because of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Wuhan Tianhe International 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 "Wuhan Tianhe International Airport", other names for WUH include "武汉天河国际机场" and "Wǔhàn Tiānhé Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Wuhan Tianhe International Airport handled 11,646,789 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH) is La Cumbre Airport (LCM), which is nearly antipodal to Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (meaning Wuhan Tianhe International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Cumbre Airport), and is located 12,361 miles (19,892 kilometers) away in La Cumbre, Córdoba, Argentina.
• The 2nd airport expressway under construction
• The closest airport to Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH) is Shashi Airport (SHS), which is located 119 miles (192 kilometers) WSW of WUH.

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.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• The 20th Fighter Group was first equipped with North American P-51D, then exchanged its P-51's in February 1948 for F-84B Thunderjets, the first TAC group to receive operational F-84s.
• 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.
• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.