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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Bunbury Airport (BUY), Bunbury, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,244 miles (or 16,486 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 Bunbury 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 Bunbury 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):

• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
• 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 mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver decisive combat power for global response.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• 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 host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force.
• In March 1944, heavy bomber operational training ended and the 225th Army Air Force Base Unit began training of replacement personnel for deployed heavy bombardment units in the overseas combat theaters.

Facts about Bunbury Airport (BUY):

• With increasing interest in ultra-light and general aviation, there is a potential for Bunbury Airport to become a major general aviation airport.
• Bunbury Airport is an airport servicing the Western Australian city of Bunbury.
• Because of Bunbury Airport's relatively low elevation of 53 feet, planes can take off or land at Bunbury 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.
• In addition to being known as "Bunbury Airport", another name for BUY is "Bunbury City Airport".
• Bunbury Airport (BUY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Bunbury Airport (BUY) is Busselton Regional Airport (BQB), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SW of BUY.
• The furthest airport from Bunbury Airport (BUY) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Bunbury Airport (meaning Bunbury Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,364 miles (19,898 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.