Nonstop flight route between Perth, Western Australia, Australia and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Perth Airport (PER), Perth, Western Australia, Australia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,177 miles (or 16,378 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 Perth 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 Perth 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 Perth Airport (PER):

• Site selection and preparation of the original plans was undertaken by Mr N M Fricker of the Department of Civil Aviation.
• Because of Perth Airport's relatively low elevation of 67 feet, planes can take off or land at Perth 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.
• Perth Airport handled 13,664,394 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Perth Airport (PER) is Jandakot Airport (JAD), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSW of PER.
• In the late 1980s the Federal Government, as a prelude to eventual privatisation, formed the Federal Airports Corporation.
• In 2012, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released a report rating the Perth Airport as the worst in Australia, as judged by airlines.
• In 1960, the current international terminal previously constructed from steel and cladding from Manus Island was dismantled and then re-erected in the suburb of Cannington.
• From 1962 onwards, both the domestic and international passenger operations at the airport were provided by a single terminal.
• Perth Airport (PER) has 2 runways.
• The airport only received international status and was renamed to Perth International Airport in 1952.
• The furthest airport from Perth Airport (PER) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Perth Airport (meaning Perth Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,938 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• The 12th Air Division moved to Ellsworth on 15 July 1988.
• 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.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• 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 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.