Nonstop flight route between Minami-Tori-shima, Japan and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Minamitorishima Air Field (MUS), Minami-Tori-shima, Japan and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,662 miles (or 9,113 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 Minamitorishima Air Field 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 Minamitorishima Air Field 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 Minamitorishima Air Field (MUS):

• Minamitorishima Air Field (MUS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Minamitorishima Air Field's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Minamitorishima Air Field 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.
• In addition to being known as "Minamitorishima Air Field", other names for MUS include "Minami Torishima Airport" and "Marcus Island Airport".
• The closest airport to Minamitorishima Air Field (MUS) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is located 796 miles (1,281 kilometers) W of MUS.
• The furthest airport from Minamitorishima Air Field (MUS) is Vitória-Eurico de Aguiar Salles Airport (Goiabeiras) (VIX), which is located 11,484 miles (18,481 kilometers) away in Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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.
• In October 1960, Ellsworth entered the "Space Age," with the activation of the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, initially assigned to the 28 BMW.
• The base experienced one of its worst peacetime tragedies in March 1953 when an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe.
• 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.