Nonstop flight route between Maitland, New South Wales, Australia and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maitland Airport (MTL), Maitland, New South Wales, Australia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,463 miles (or 13,619 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 Maitland 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 Maitland 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 Maitland Airport (MTL):

• In addition to being known as "Maitland Airport", another name for MTL is "Russell Field".
• The main runway used for arrivals and departures is 05/23, with a paved surface 1,244 by 15 m.
• Maitland Airport (MTL) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Maitland Airport (MTL) is Cessnock Airport (CES), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) SW of MTL.
• The furthest airport from Maitland Airport (MTL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Maitland Airport (meaning Maitland Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,086 miles (19,451 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• Because of Maitland Airport's relatively low elevation of 85 feet, planes can take off or land at Maitland 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):

• The 44th Missile Wing, however, had ably accomplished its deterrence mission.
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
• 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.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• 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.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Shortly after additional runway improvements, in July 1949, the 28 BMW began conversion from B-29s to the huge B-36 Peacemaker.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.