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):

• 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.
• After the Armistice in South Korea which ended combat, the 49th Fighter Group moved to Nagoya Air Base with F-84 Thunderjets.
• In addition to being known as "Nagoya Airfield", other names for NKM include "名古屋飛行場" and "Nagoya Hikōjō".
• Nagoya Airfield (NKM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Operational use from the airfield began in February 1947 when the 347th Fighter Group began operating P-61 Black Widow interceptor aircraft, which were used to provide air defense for Japan.
• Since the opening of Kansai International Airport in 1994, the airport's main traffic source has been the nearby automotive and manufacturing industries, causing carriers such as United Airlines and Delta Air Lines ) to stop flying to Nagoya.
• The closest airport to Nagoya Airfield (NKM) is Chūbu Centrair International Airport (NGO), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) SSW of NKM.
• 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 Airport was opened in 1944 as a military airport named Kamake Airfield, it was attacked on several occasions in 1944 and 1945 by USAAF B-29 Superfortress bombing raids.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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.
• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• 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 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.