Nonstop flight route between Oamaru, North Otago, New Zealand and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Oamaru Airport (OAM), Oamaru, North Otago, New Zealand and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,090 miles (or 13,020 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 Oamaru 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 Oamaru 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 Oamaru Airport (OAM):

• Because of Oamaru Airport's relatively low elevation of 99 feet, planes can take off or land at Oamaru 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.
• Oamaru Airport (OAM) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Oamaru Airport (OAM) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Oamaru Airport (meaning Oamaru Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,318 miles (19,825 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• The closest airport to Oamaru Airport (OAM) is Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) (TIU), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) N of OAM.
• The North Otago Aero Club has been operating from the Oamaru Airport since 1956, and offers charter flights to Dunedin, Christchurch and Queenstown International Airports.
• On 10 December 1960 South Pacific Airlines of New Zealand commenced a Douglas DC-3 service linking Oamaru north to Timaru and Christchurch and south to Alexandra and Invercargill.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".