Nonstop flight route between Asmara, Eritrea and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Asmara International Airport (ASM), Asmara, Eritrea and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,683 miles (or 12,365 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 Asmara International Airport and Ellsworth 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 Asmara International Airport and Ellsworth 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 Asmara International Airport (ASM):

• On 7 July 1935, an agreement was signed with Imperial Airways to connect Asmara to Khartoum.
• Because of Asmara International Airport's high elevation of 7,661 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ASM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ASM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Asmara International Airport (ASM) is Fangatau Airport (FGU), which is nearly antipodal to Asmara International Airport (meaning Asmara International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fangatau Airport), and is located 12,398 miles (19,952 kilometers) away in Fangatau, French Polynesia.
• Asmara International Airport (ASM) has 2 runways.
• Asmara International Airport has capacity restrictions due to its small terminal, short runway and 1.5-mile altitude.
• The closest airport to Asmara International Airport (ASM) is Massawa International Airport (MSW), which is located 41 miles (66 kilometers) NE of ASM.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• The furthest airport from Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,579 miles (17,026 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
• The 44th Missile Wing, however, had ably accomplished its deterrence mission.
• The base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• The closest airport to Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of RCA.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.