Nonstop flight route between Izumo, Shimane, Japan and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Izumo Airport (IZO), Izumo, Shimane, Japan and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,916 miles (or 9,521 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 Izumo 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 Izumo 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 Izumo Airport (IZO):

• Izumo Airport (IZO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Izumo Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Izumo 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.
• The closest airport to Izumo Airport (IZO) is Miho-Yonago Airport (YGJ), which is located 20 miles (33 kilometers) ENE of IZO.
• The furthest airport from Izumo Airport (IZO) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Izumo Airport (meaning Izumo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,066 miles (19,419 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Izumo Airport", other names for IZO include "出雲空港" and "Izumo Kūkō".

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• Internationally, the destruction of the Berlin Wall in October 1989 symbolized the imminent demise of the Soviet Union over the next several months.
• 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.
• Rapid City AAB was reactivated on 11 October 1945 and was assigned to Continental Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• 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 installation changed names a few more times during its early years.