Nonstop flight route between Kita Kyūshū, Kyūshū, Japan and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kokura Airport (KKJ), Kita Kyūshū, Kyūshū, Japan and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,069 miles (or 9,767 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 Kokura 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 Kokura 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 Kokura Airport (KKJ):

• The furthest airport from Kokura Airport (KKJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Kokura Airport (meaning Kokura Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,220 miles (19,665 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Kokura Airport (KKJ) is Yamaguchi Ube Airport (UBJ), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ENE of KKJ.
• In addition to being known as "Kokura Airport", other names for KKJ include "小倉空港" and "Kokura Kūkō".
• Kokura Airport (KKJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kokura Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kokura 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.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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.