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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Emerald Airport (EMD), Emerald, Queensland, Australia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,245 miles (or 13,269 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 Emerald 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 Emerald 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 Emerald Airport (EMD):

• The furthest airport from Emerald Airport (EMD) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,818 miles (19,019 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• The closest airport to Emerald Airport (EMD) is Blackwater Airport (BLT), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) E of EMD.
• Emerald Airport (EMD) has 2 runways.
• Emerald Airport recently spent $7.7 million extending the terminal and refurbishing the old terminal.
• Emerald Airport was ranked 37th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010-2011.
• Because of Emerald Airport's relatively low elevation of 624 feet, planes can take off or land at Emerald 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):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.