Nonstop flight route between Niamey, Niger and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM), Niamey, Niger and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,302 miles (or 10,142 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 Diori Hamani International 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 Diori Hamani International 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 Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM):

• The furthest airport from Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM) is Aéroport de Futuna - Pointe-Vele Pointe Vele Airport (FUT), which is nearly antipodal to Diori Hamani International Airport (meaning Diori Hamani International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Aéroport de Futuna - Pointe-Vele Pointe Vele Airport), and is located 12,377 miles (19,919 kilometers) away in Futuna Island, Wallis and Futuna Islands.
• Because of Diori Hamani International Airport's relatively low elevation of 732 feet, planes can take off or land at Diori Hamani International 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.
• Diori Hamani International Airport handled 154,460 passengers last year.
• Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Diori Hamani International Airport (NIM) is Kantchari Airport (XKA), which is located 84 miles (135 kilometers) SSW of NIM.
• Diori Hamani International Airport is an airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.