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):

• 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.
• The closest airport to Cessnock Airport (CES) is Maitland Airport (MTL), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) NE of CES.
• 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 popular Flight training aerodrome servicing Newcastle and Lower Hunter based pilots and students.
• The aerodrome was proposed to have the following satellite aerodromes, Glendon, Rothbury and Weston, however Rothbury and Weston do not appear to have been constructed.
• 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.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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".
• 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 October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.