Nonstop flight route between Koné, New Caledonia and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Koné Airport (KNQ), Koné, New Caledonia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,320 miles (or 11,780 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 Koné 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 Koné 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 Koné Airport (KNQ):

• The closest airport to Koné Airport (KNQ) is Koumac Airport (KOC), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) NW of KNQ.
• Because of Koné Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Koné 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.
• Koné Airport (KNQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Koné Airport (KNQ) is Akjoujt Airport (AJJ), which is nearly antipodal to Koné Airport (meaning Koné Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Akjoujt Airport), and is located 12,333 miles (19,847 kilometers) away in Akjoujt, Mauritania.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.