Nonstop flight route between Blackwater, Queensland, Australia and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Blackwater Airport (BLT), Blackwater, Queensland, Australia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,216 miles (or 13,222 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 Blackwater 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 Blackwater 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 Blackwater Airport (BLT):

• Blackwater Airport (BLT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Blackwater Airport (BLT) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,844 miles (19,061 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• The closest airport to Blackwater Airport (BLT) is Emerald Airport (EMD), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) W of BLT.
• Because of Blackwater Airport's relatively low elevation of 657 feet, planes can take off or land at Blackwater 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.