Nonstop flight route between Nagoya, Japan and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nagoya Airfield (NKM), Nagoya, Japan and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,786 miles (or 9,311 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 Nagoya Airfield 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 Nagoya Airfield 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 Nagoya Airfield (NKM):

• Reconstruction of the heavily-damaged airfield began and in May 1946, Nagoya became the Headquarters of the Fifth Air Force, which controlled Air Force occupation units throughout Japan.
• The furthest airport from Nagoya Airfield (NKM) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,870 miles (19,103 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Nagoya Airfield (NKM) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the 1980s and early 1990s, Nagoya Airport was a busy international airport because of overflow from Japan's other international airports, New Tokyo International Airport near Tokyo and Osaka International Airport near Osaka.
• Because of Nagoya Airfield's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Nagoya Airfield 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 "Nagoya Airfield", other names for NKM include "名古屋飛行場" and "Nagoya Hikōjō".
• The closest airport to Nagoya Airfield (NKM) is Chūbu Centrair International Airport (NGO), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) SSW of NKM.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.