Nonstop flight route between Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hualien Airport (HUN), Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,944 miles (or 11,176 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 Hualien 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 Hualien 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 Hualien Airport (HUN):

• Because of Hualien Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Hualien 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.
• Hualien Airport (HUN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Hualien Airport", other names for HUN include "花蓮航空站花蓮機場" and "Huālián HángkōngzhànHuālián Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Hualien Airport (HUN) is Clorinda Airport (CLX), which is nearly antipodal to Hualien Airport (meaning Hualien Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clorinda Airport), and is located 12,339 miles (19,858 kilometers) away in Clorinda, Formosa, Argentina.
• Because Hualien City is a popular gateway into Taroko National Park, the airport became too small and outdated for the growing number of tourists.
• The closest airport to Hualien Airport (HUN) is Taichung Airport(Taichung Ching Chuan Kang Airport) (RMQ), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WNW of HUN.
• Hualien Airport is a commercial airport located in an 11.5-hectare civilian area of a military airbase in Xincheng Township, Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan.

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.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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.
• 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.