Nonstop flight route between Jinchang, Gansu, China and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC), Jinchang, Gansu, China and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,507 miles (or 10,473 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 Jinchang Jinchuan 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 Jinchang Jinchuan 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 Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC):

• In addition to being known as "Jinchang Jinchuan Airport", other names for JIC include "金昌金川机场" and "Jīnchāng Jīnchuān Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC) is Pichoy Airport (ZAL), which is nearly antipodal to Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (meaning Jinchang Jinchuan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pichoy Airport), and is located 12,180 miles (19,602 kilometers) away in Valdivia, Chile.
• The closest airport to Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC) is Alxa Right Banner Badanjilin Airport (RHT), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) NW of JIC.
• Jinchang Jinchuan Airport (JIC) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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 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.