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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Hedland International Airport (PHE), Port Hedland, Western Australia, Australia and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,544 miles (or 15,360 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 Port Hedland 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 Port Hedland 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 Port Hedland International Airport (PHE):

• The closest airport to Port Hedland International Airport (PHE) is Coolawanyah Station Airport (COY), which is located 113 miles (181 kilometers) SSW of PHE.
• It is undergoing upgrades.
• Port Hedland International Airport is an airport serving Port Hedland, Western Australia.
• Port Hedland International Airport handled 367,690 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Port Hedland International Airport (PHE) is Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport (AXA), which is nearly antipodal to Port Hedland International Airport (meaning Port Hedland International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport), and is located 12,251 miles (19,716 kilometers) away in The Valley, Anguilla.
• Port Hedland International Airport (PHE) has 2 runways.
• Because of Port Hedland International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Hedland 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.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• When operations resumed in 1947 the base was a new United States Air Force asset.
• The mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.