Nonstop flight route between Tokyo, Honshū, Japan and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tokyo International Airport (HND), Tokyo, Honshū, Japan and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,668 miles (or 9,121 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 Tokyo International 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 Tokyo International 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 Tokyo International Airport (HND):

• Following Tokyo's winning bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics, the Japanese government plans to increase the combined slot capacity of Haneda and Narita, and to construct a new railway line linking Haneda Airport to Tokyo Station in approximately 18 minutes.JR East is also considering extending an existing freight line from Tamachi Station on the Yamanote Line to create a third rail link to the airport, which may potentially be connected to the Ueno-Tokyo Line to offer a through connection to Ueno and points on the Utsunomiya Line and Takasaki Line.
• Because of Tokyo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Tokyo International 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.
• Before the construction of Haneda Airport, aviators in Tokyo used various beaches of Tokyo Bay as airstrips, including beaches near the current site of Haneda.
• In addition to being known as "Tokyo International Airport", other names for HND include "東京国際空港" and "Tōkyō Kokusai Kūkō".
• Macquarie Bank and Macquarie Airports owned a 19.9% stake in Japan Airport Terminal until 2009, when they sold their stake back to the company.
• Tokyo International Airport (HND) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from Tokyo International Airport (HND) is Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport (CCM), which is located 11,722 miles (18,864 kilometers) away in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Tokyo International Airport (HND) is Narita International Airport (NRT), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) ENE of HND.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.