Nonstop flight route between Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN), Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,570 miles (or 10,574 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 Zhoushan Putuoshan 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 Zhoushan Putuoshan 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 Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN):

• The closest airport to Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN) is Ningbo Lishe International Airport (NGB), which is located 54 miles (88 kilometers) W of HSN.
• In addition to being known as "Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport", other names for HSN include "舟山普陀山机场" and "Zhōushān Pǔtuóshān Jīchǎng".
• The Chinese engineers had a rather unique way of placing the fill which was regularly monitored by U.S.
• The furthest airport from Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (HSN) is Monte Caseros Airport (MCS), which is nearly antipodal to Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (meaning Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Monte Caseros Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,977 kilometers) away in Monte Caseros, Corrientes, Argentina.
• The runway was originally designed to be long enough to land 747s, which require around 10,000' length for take-off by 130' width.
• An interesting fact relating to the design of the runway is that the existing site, which was a large area of rice paddy fields, was less than a half-meter above sea level, situated behind a protective dam which kept seawater out during severe weather.

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.
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• 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.
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• 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".