Nonstop flight route between Kapolei, Hawaii, United States and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kalaeloa Airport (NAX), Kapolei, Hawaii, United States and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,487 miles (or 5,611 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 Kalaeloa 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 Kalaeloa 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 Kalaeloa Airport (NAX):

• In addition to being known as "Kalaeloa Airport", other names for NAX include "John Rodgers Field", "none" and "JRF".
• Because of Kalaeloa Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Kalaeloa 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.
• Kalaeloa Airport (NAX) has 3 runways.
• NAS Barbers Point was closed by Base Realignment and Closure action in the late 1990s, with the Navy aircraft, primarily P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft assigned to squadrons of Patrol Wing Two and SH-60B Seahawk helicopters assigned to Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light 37, relocating to Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, now Marine Corps Base Hawaii, on the other side of the island.
• The furthest airport from Kalaeloa Airport (NAX) is Ghanzi Airport (GNZ), which is nearly antipodal to Kalaeloa Airport (meaning Kalaeloa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ghanzi Airport), and is located 12,405 miles (19,964 kilometers) away in Ghanzi, Botswana.
• The closest airport to Kalaeloa Airport (NAX) is Hickam Field (HIK), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) E of NAX.

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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• 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.