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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Griffith Airport (GFF), Griffith, New South Wales, Australia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,782 miles (or 14,133 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 Griffith 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 Griffith 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 Griffith Airport (GFF):

• Griffith Airport (GFF) has 2 runways.
• Because of Griffith Airport's relatively low elevation of 439 feet, planes can take off or land at Griffith 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.
• The closest airport to Griffith Airport (GFF) is West Wyalong Airport (WWY), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) ENE of GFF.
• Regional Express withdrew services to and from Melbourne in July 2012.
• The furthest airport from Griffith Airport (GFF) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Griffith Airport (meaning Griffith Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,045 miles (19,385 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.