Nonstop flight route between Kerikeri, New Zealand and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kerikeri Airport (KKE), Kerikeri, New Zealand and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,553 miles (or 12,156 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 Kerikeri 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 Kerikeri 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 Kerikeri Airport (KKE):

• Kerikeri Airport (KKE) has 3 runways.
• Because of Kerikeri Airport's relatively low elevation of 492 feet, planes can take off or land at Kerikeri 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 furthest airport from Kerikeri Airport (KKE) is Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG), which is nearly antipodal to Kerikeri Airport (meaning Kerikeri Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport), and is located 12,403 miles (19,961 kilometers) away in Tangier, Morocco.
• In 1972, Mount Cook Airlines decided to use the airport to connect to tourist resorts.
• The closest airport to Kerikeri Airport (KKE) is Kaikohe Aerodrome (KKO), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) SSW of KKE.
• If an Air New Zealand flight from Kerikeri to Auckland is not full and an Air New Zealand flight from Whangarei to Auckland is canceled, Air New Zealand sometimes flys their Beechcraft 1900D from Kerikeri to Whangarei then on to Auckland.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.