Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Benin City, Nigeria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Benin Airport (BNI), Benin City, Nigeria would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,821 miles (or 10,978 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 Benin 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 Benin 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):

• An AN/MPS-14 height-finder radar was added in 1956.
• On 1 June 1971, SAC deactivated the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division and by October of that year, an upgraded LGM-30F Minuteman II also replaced the Minuteman I missiles.
• 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.
• 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.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.
• On 2 January 1942, the U.S.
• The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.

Facts about Benin Airport (BNI):

• Benin Airport (BNI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Benin Airport (BNI) is Akure Airport (AKR), which is located 67 miles (109 kilometers) NNW of BNI.
• The furthest airport from Benin Airport (BNI) is Canton Island Airport (CIS), which is nearly antipodal to Benin Airport (meaning Benin Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Canton Island Airport), and is located 12,129 miles (19,520 kilometers) away in Canton Island, Kiribati.
• Benin Airport handled 308,741 passengers last year.
• Because of Benin Airport's relatively low elevation of 258 feet, planes can take off or land at Benin 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.