Nonstop flight route between Monrovia, Liberia and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW), Monrovia, Liberia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,030 miles (or 9,705 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 Spriggs Payne 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 Spriggs Payne 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 Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW):

• In January 2011, newly-formed Fly 6ix, initially designated as the new national airline of Sierra Leone began operating from Freetown with a single Embraer ERJ-135 regional jet.
• Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Spriggs Payne Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Spriggs Payne 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 Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW) is Roberts International Airport Roberts Field (ROB), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) E of MLW.
• The furthest airport from Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW) is Nauru International Airport (INU), which is nearly antipodal to Spriggs Payne Airport (meaning Spriggs Payne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Nauru International Airport), and is located 12,009 miles (19,327 kilometers) away in Yaren, Nauru.
• From 2008 until mid-2010, scheduled commercial services were operated by Cameroon-based Elysian Airlines.
• James Spriggs Payne Airport is an airport located 5 kilometres from downtown Monrovia, the capital of the Republic of Liberia in West Africa.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
• 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.
• On 15 July 1945, the 225th AAFBU was inactivated and Rapid City AAB was placed on standby status as the Army Air Forces began to demobilize.
• 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.
• 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.
• To provide air defense of the base, the United States Army established the Ellsworth AFB Defense Area in 1957 and constructed Nike-Ajax Surface-to-air missile sites for air defense.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".