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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,066 miles (or 12,981 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 Great Barrier Reef 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 Great Barrier Reef 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 Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI):

• The closest airport to Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI) is Whitsunday Airport (WSY), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HTI.
• *Sydney route included from July 2009
• Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Great Barrier Reef Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Great Barrier Reef 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.
• Great Barrier Reef Airport handled 457,641 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,990 miles (19,297 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• In addition to being known as "Great Barrier Reef Airport", another name for HTI is "Hamilton Island".

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.