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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC), Qingshan, China and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,152 miles (or 13,119 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 Xichang Qingshan 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 Xichang Qingshan 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 Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC):

• The closest airport to Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) is Zhaotong Airport (ZAT), which is located 107 miles (171 kilometers) ESE of XIC.
• Because of Xichang Qingshan Airport's high elevation of 5,112 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at XIC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make XIC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Xichang Qingshan Airport (meaning Xichang Qingshan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,015 miles (19,337 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Xichang Qingshan Airport", other names for XIC include "西昌青山机场" and "Xīchāng Qīngshān Jīchǎng".
• Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is one of only two air bases in CONUS with an active railroad line.
• On 9 August 1990, the 17th and 33d TFS of 363d TFW became the first F-16 squadrons to deploy to the United Arab Emirates in Operation Desert Shield.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• 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 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.