Nonstop flight route between Shizuoka, Honshu, Japan and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shizuoka Airport (FSZ), Shizuoka, Honshu, Japan and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,765 miles (or 9,279 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 Shizuoka 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 Shizuoka 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 Shizuoka Airport (FSZ):

• The furthest airport from Shizuoka Airport (FSZ) is Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport (CCM), which is located 11,824 miles (19,029 kilometers) away in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Shizuoka Airport", other names for FSZ include "静岡空港" and "Shizuoka Kūkō".
• Because of Shizuoka Airport's relatively low elevation of 433 feet, planes can take off or land at Shizuoka 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.
• Shizuoka Airport (FSZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Shizuoka Airport (FSZ) is Nagoya Airfield (NKM), which is located 78 miles (126 kilometers) WNW of FSZ.
• The closest railway station is Kanaya Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Ōigawa Main Line.
• To allow for growth in air travel to Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, and the Mount Fuji area, and to fill the gap between Tokyo and Nagoya airports, Shizuoka Prefecture bought 190 hectares of land for Shizuoka Airport.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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.
• The 44th Missile Wing, however, had ably accomplished its deterrence mission.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.