Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Aiyura, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RCA to AYU:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- AYU Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about AYU
- Map of Nearest Airports to RCA
- List of Nearest Airports to RCA
- Map of Furthest Airports from RCA
- List of Furthest Airports from RCA
- Map of Nearest Airports to AYU
- List of Nearest Airports to AYU
- Map of Furthest Airports from AYU
- List of Furthest Airports from AYU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Aiyura Airport (AYU), Aiyura, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,561 miles (or 12,168 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 Aiyura 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 Aiyura Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RCA / KRCA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Rapid City, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°8'47"N by 103°4'28"W |
View all routes: | Routes from RCA |
More Information: | RCA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | AYU / AYAY |
Airport Name: | Aiyura Airport |
Location: | Aiyura, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°20'16"S by 145°54'14"E |
Elevation: | 5100 feet (1,554 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from AYU |
More Information: | AYU Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (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.
- 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.
- 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.
- An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
- Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base.
Facts about Aiyura Airport (AYU):
- The furthest airport from Aiyura Airport (AYU) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,723 miles (18,867 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
- The closest airport to Aiyura Airport (AYU) is Gusap Airport (GAP), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) N of AYU.
- Aiyura Airport (AYU) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Aiyura Airport's high elevation of 5,100 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AYU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AYU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.