Nonstop flight route between Nouna, Burkina Faso and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nouna Airport (XNU), Nouna, Burkina Faso and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,968 miles (or 7,996 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 Nouna 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 Nouna 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 Nouna Airport (XNU):

• In addition to being known as "Nouna Airport", another name for XNU is "Nouna Airport (Nouna)".
• The furthest airport from Nouna Airport (XNU) is Yasawa Island Airport (YAS), which is nearly antipodal to Nouna Airport (meaning Nouna Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Yasawa Island Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,544 kilometers) away in Yasawa Island, Fiji.
• The closest airport to Nouna Airport (XNU) is Dédougou Airport (DGU), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) SE of XNU.
• Nouna Airport (XNU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Nouna Airport's relatively low elevation of 886 feet, planes can take off or land at Nouna 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.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• 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.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.