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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Smithers Regional Airport (YYD), Smithers, 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 4,263 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 Smithers Regional 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 Smithers Regional 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 Smithers Regional Airport (YYD):

• The closest airport to Smithers Regional Airport (YYD) is Burns Lake Airport (YPZ), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) ESE of YYD.
• Smithers Regional Airport (YYD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Smithers Regional Airport (YYD) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,507 miles (16,909 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• Originally the runway was 5,000 ft, but it has been expanded to 7,544 ft so that the airport can land larger aircraft.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.
• On 1 April 1951, the 363d TRW was transferred to Shaw from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing would remain at Shaw, under various designations, for the next 43 years.
• 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 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.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.