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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Aomori Airport (AOJ), Aomori, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,364 miles (or 8,633 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Aomori Airport, 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Aomori Airport. 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 Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.

Facts about Aomori Airport (AOJ):

• The furthest airport from Aomori Airport (AOJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,507 miles (18,518 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In 1998, Air Nippon began operations to Sendai Airport.
• Because of Aomori Airport's relatively low elevation of 650 feet, planes can take off or land at Aomori 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.
• The closest airport to Aomori Airport (AOJ) is Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) E of AOJ.
• The first Aomori Airport was opened in 1964, in the town of Namioka, with a single 1200 x 30 meter runway designed for use with the NAMC YS-11 aircraft.
• In 2005, the runway was extended to 3000 meters and the instrument landing system upgraded to handle Cat-3a fog conditions.
• Aomori Airport (AOJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Aomori Airport", other names for AOJ include "青森空港" and "Aomori Kūkō".