Nonstop flight route between Bella Bella, British Columbia, Canada and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome (YSX), Bella Bella, British Columbia, Canada and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,649 miles (or 4,264 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 Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome 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 Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome 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 Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome (YSX):

• Because of Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome 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 closest airport to Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome (YSX) is Bella Bella (Campbell Island) Airport (ZEL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) NW of YSX.
• In addition to being known as "Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome", another name for YSX is "CAW8".
• The furthest airport from Bella Bella/Shearwater Water Aerodrome (YSX) is East London Airport (ELS), which is located 10,652 miles (17,142 kilometers) away in East London, South Africa.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• On 25 June 1953, the 66th TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany.
• 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.
• In addition to the 363d TRW, Headquarters Ninth Air Force was transferred to Shaw from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina on 1 September 1954.
• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
• The 363rd Fighter Wing was inactivated at Shaw AFB on 31 December 1993, and the next day, 1 January 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, returning to the base it had left for duty with NATO forty-one years earlier.