Nonstop flight route between Marcoola, Queensland, Australia and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY), Marcoola, Queensland, Australia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,134 miles (or 13,091 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 Sunshine-Coast-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 Sunshine-Coast-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 Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY):

• In February 2012, Air New Zealand announced plans to launch a new twice-weekly between Auckland and Sunshine Coast Airport, to operate seasonally from July to September.
• The terminal is modern and of high-quality for a regional airport.
• The furthest airport from Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,859 miles (19,086 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• The airport has one terminal.
• The airport has two runways.
• As of April 2014, the only scheduled domestic routes are to southern state capitals, Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.
• The Airport supports a number of regular public transport services and a variety of general aviation activities.
• Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY) has 2 runways.
• Because of Sunshine-Coast-Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Sunshine-Coast-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 closest airport to Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY) is Caloundra Airport (CUD), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) S of MCY.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• On 1 June 1992, as part of the first major reorganization since the creation of USAF, the Air Force inactivated Strategic Air Command and assigned Ellsworth's organizations ) to the newly activated Air Combat Command.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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.
• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.