Nonstop flight route between Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cessnock Airport (CES), Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,473 miles (or 13,636 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 Cessnock 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 Cessnock 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 Cessnock Airport (CES):

• The closest airport to Cessnock Airport (CES) is Maitland Airport (MTL), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) NE of CES.
• The furthest airport from Cessnock Airport (CES) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Cessnock Airport (meaning Cessnock Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,087 miles (19,451 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• Cessnock Airport (CES) currently has only 1 runway.
• Built by the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 during World War II named as RAAF Base Pokolbin, as part of a system of parent and satellite aerodromes proposed throughout New South Wales.
• Because of Cessnock Airport's relatively low elevation of 211 feet, planes can take off or land at Cessnock 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.
• Cessnock Airport is a civil airport located 6 km north of Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• 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 March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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.
• 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.