Nonstop flight route between Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hilo International Airport (ITO), Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,411 miles (or 5,490 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 Hilo 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 Hilo 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 Hilo International Airport (ITO):

• Hilo International Airport handled 1,279,342 passengers last year.
• During the late 1950s Territorial leaders anticipated a boom in tourism, prompting plans for a second airport capable of accommodating large jet aircraft.
• Hilo International Airport (ITO) has 2 runways.
• Hilo International Airport has two runways.
• The closest airport to Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) W of ITO.
• Because of Hilo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 38 feet, planes can take off or land at Hilo 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.
• On April 28, 1988, an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 operating Flight 243 from General Lyman Field to Honolulu International Airport carrying 89 passengers and 5 crew members experienced rapid decompression when an 18 feet section of the fuselage roof and sides were torn from the airplane.
• The furthest airport from Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Hilo International Airport (meaning Hilo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,336 miles (19,854 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• Although designed as the second gateway into and out of Hawaiʻi, for many years Hilo had been Hawaiʻi's only major airport lacking non-stop flights to North America.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• 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 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.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.