Nonstop flight route between Lodja, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lodja Airport (LJA), Lodja, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,144 miles (or 13,107 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 Lodja 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 Lodja 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 Lodja Airport (LJA):

• The closest airport to Lodja Airport (LJA) is Lusambo Airport (LBO), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) S of LJA.
• The furthest airport from Lodja Airport (LJA) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Lodja Airport (meaning Lodja Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,325 miles (19,835 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• Because of Lodja Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Lodja 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):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• 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 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 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.