Nonstop flight route between Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RCA to BWH:
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- About this route
- RCA Airport Information
- BWH Airport Information
- Facts about RCA
- Facts about BWH
- 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 BWH
- List of Nearest Airports to BWH
- Map of Furthest Airports from BWH
- List of Furthest Airports from BWH
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States and RMAF Butterworth (BWH), Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,711 miles (or 14,019 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 RMAF Butterworth, 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 RMAF Butterworth. 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: |
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| 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: | BWH / WMKB |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 5°27'57"N by 100°23'27"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence (Malaysia) |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 8 feet (2 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BWH |
| More Information: | BWH Maps & Info |
Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):
- In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
- The installation changed names a few more times during its early years.
- 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 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.
- The Titan I's life span was short in western South Dakota.
- Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, II Bomber Command.
- 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.
Facts about RMAF Butterworth (BWH):
- In 1957, the RAF closed the station and it was transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force and it was promptly renamed as RAAF Station Butterworth, becoming the home to numerous Australian fighter and bomber squadrons stationed in Malaya during the Cold War era.
- During this period, No.
- On 30 June 1988, the airfield was handed over by RAAF to the Royal Malaysian Air Force and was renamed as RMAF Station Butterworth.
- Because of RMAF Butterworth's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at RMAF Butterworth 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 RMAF Butterworth (BWH) is RMAF Butterworth (UTE), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of BWH.
- In addition to being known as "RMAF Butterworth", another name for BWH is "TUDM Butterworth".
- The furthest airport from RMAF Butterworth (BWH) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to RMAF Butterworth (meaning RMAF Butterworth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
- RMAF Butterworth (BWH) currently has only 1 runway.
