Nonstop flight route between Bowen, Queensland, Australia and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bowen Airport (ZBO), Bowen, Queensland, Australia and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,320 miles (or 14,998 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 Bowen 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 Bowen 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 Bowen Airport (ZBO):

• The closest airport to Bowen Airport (ZBO) is Whitsunday Airport (WSY), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) ESE of ZBO.
• Bowen Airport (ZBO) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Bowen Airport (ZBO) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,957 miles (19,243 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Because of Bowen Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Bowen 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 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.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• For a brief time, Shaw Field also served as a prisoner-of-war camp.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina.
• Over the next four decades, the squadrons under the 363d TRW changed frequently.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.